Blast Percentage & Regularity Of Blood Transfusions

[JamieM]

Can you please let me know your last known blast percentage (or MDS classification) and how often you need blood transfusions?

My Mum has a pretty complicated situation as it is suspected her MDS is regressed from AML. The BMB she had didn't provide an optimal sample so her diagnosis is still uncertain. However one of the blast measurements showed her percentage at under 5% and another at under 10%.

She had recently been getting blood transfusions every 4 weeks but now 2-3 weeks. It seems quite regular for a low blast percentage so perhaps it is inaccurate. She isn't currently receiving any treatment and her platelets and WBC are now very low at 15 and 1.2 (neut 0.5) respectively.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[Neil Cuadra]

JamieM,

My wife's blasts were under 5% (classified MDS-RA) and she needed 17 whole blood transfusions and 19 platelet transfusions.

The blast count can indicate the progression of the disease, but transfusions depend on day-to-day blood counts, which don't necessarily correlate with blasts in the bone marrow or blasts in the blood stream.

I'm sorry that your Mum has an uncertain diagnosis and that she has needed more frequent transfusions. You'll have more of an idea where you stand when they can get a better sample.