white cell count

[twomeyh]

This is my first time posting .My son was diagnosed with saa in july and as he does not have a full sibling match he underwent atg/cyclosoporine on the 10th august we are almost 3 months post treatment with mixed response his last platelet transfusion was 12th of sept and today his platelet count was 77 000.his last hgb transfusion was 16th sept and today his hgb is 9.0 was 7.5 2 wks ago.the big problem is his wcc and anc today only 1.1 and 0.3 respectively 2wks ago they had risen to 1.6 and 1.0 which was good for him and it gave us great hope,today we are so disappointed and now our doctor is talking about retreatment they is no perfect match available.Any help would be appreciated

[Lisa V]

Has he received any G-CSF shots (Neupogen, Neulasta etc.) as part of his treatment? If not, have they considered trying it to boost his WBCs? It's not a cure, and shouldn't be maintained long-term, but it could buy him some time while his marrow gets used to producing them on its own. It seems like a shame to have to repeat ATG when his other two lines sound like they are responding.

[twomeyh]

Hi Lisa

Thank you for your reply.You said exactly what i feel such a shame when platelets and hgb doing well for now anyway my doctor will only give shots to boost white cell count in an extreme like if he gets really sick ,she dosent like to give them to children.I havent read anywhere where people had problems with the wcc its mostly the other two i would prefer to wait if i thought they was still a chance of coming on their own. he has been very lucky that he has stayed well since june with no neutrophils but we dont to wait until he gets a big infection.Any advice would really be appreciated

[evansmom]

Hi there,

Keep in mind that even the mildest viral infection may cause a temporary dip in the white cell line.

Try not to worry too much but rather wait and see how his next set of labs look.