Getting Ready.

[aziela]

hi, i'm new to this forum and have finally moved from being a spectator to being a contributor.
i am 31 y/o female and was diagnosed with myelofibrosis back in 2010. up until last year, my condition was just slowly deteriorating until june, 2011 when my hb had dramatically dropped 10+ pts (from 97 to 87, or 9.7 ->8.7), which was some cause for concern. we talked about options, and my hematologist confirmed that an unrelated marrow match had been found.
i met with the transplant team and confirmed that the BMT was probably the best option for treatment.

my hb is now at 80 (or, 8.0), and have officially activated the donor as of last week. waiting to hear back on if the donor is willing to donate...if so, i start treatment in march.

i have been advised that my chances of having children after treatment are pretty slim - even with IVF (freezing embryos prior to treatment)...does anyone have any advice/ stories on whether or not they've had a successful pregnancy post-transplant?

thanks!

[riccd2001]

I'm sure you'll soon have some replies about future successful pregnancy experience from others who know first-hand details.

I just wanted to suggest that you should talk to your doc about posssible need for PRBC transfusions. You may be able to function well with even lower levels of Hgb; however, the usual recommendation in Ontario is 90 and above - no transfusion; 1 unit between 80 -89; 2 units between 70-79; and 3 units under 70.

[Neil Cuadra]

I wish you the best of luck, aziela, as your transplant planning moves forward.

You are correct to start asking about fertility issues now. Later could be too late. A number of Marrowforums members have dealt with this issue. If you search the forums for the word "pregnant" (or "pregnancy") you'll find a number of threads on the topic of fertility.

Freezing and IVF are the options we hear about most often, since transplants are likely to prevent a normal pregnancy in the future, but I think that you need to go over all of the options with the appropriate specialist, and that's not a hematologist or a transplant coordinator. It won't hurt to let your transplant team know that you are concerned about fertility but you need to be working directly with fertility specialists to go over the choices, choose one, and take whatever actions will make it most likely that you can have children of your own.

We never want to hear that a patient of childbearing age was rushed to transplant without those conversations.

[Anna Parton]

Aziela,

My name is Anna and I went through a BMT from my brother at the age of 9. I went through chemo, radiation, and ATG leading up to my BMT. And about a year after my transplant I went through horse serum because they thought the transplant had failed. They told me I may never have children because of everything I'd been through but wouldn't know until I tried. I am now 20 and pregnant for the second time. I miscarried back in Aug of 2011 and the OB said he doesn't think it had anything to do with my past. I hope this helps and provides with a little hope for you. Anything is possible even if the doctors tell you it's not.