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Old Mon Apr 23, 2012, 04:34 PM
Neil Cuadra Neil Cuadra is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
Posts: 2,553
Anneg,

I'm sorry to hear that your brother didn't match you. There was only a 1 in 4 chance of him matching you, but we really hoped he would. Having a match for a transplant is something you want to have as an option while you try to get your counts up with drug therapy.

They are probably doing a search of the bone marrow registry now. Some patients find matches right away while others have to wait to find someone who matches them. The odds of a registry match vary depending on race/ethnicity and also on which ethnic groups are best represented in the registry. It also depends on how common your blood antigens are (not the same as blood type). If you inherited the more common blood antigens from your parents then that increases the chances that somebody already in the bone marrow registry has the same antigens, i.e., matches you.

Even though searching the registry is quick (it's a giant database), it can take weeks or months for the whole process of lining up a donor because the National Marrow Donor Program has to contact potential donors to see if they are available and qualify medically.

Meanwhile, your doctors will probably continue to adjust your drug dosages and maybe the schedule of cycles to try to get the best results with the least side effects. Good luck!
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