Re: Marla - Can you cofirm?

From: Marla
Date: 1/3/2004
Time: 2:57:47 AM
Remote Name: 66.81.166.70

Comments

Hi Bruce:

I'm sure you've spent more time at the website than I did, but what you've written does sound consistent with the little bit I've read on stem cells and cord blood. A couple things did come to mind, though. I think you were referring to using the cord blood for transplant while I *think* Otto was referring to IVF. Using you own cord blood would seem the most ideal, if you had it, because that's actually all from you although I've read from Evan Handler's book, Time on Fire, that some people can even get *minor* GVH from an autologous transplant (marrow harvested from themselves). IVF is a much more complex procedure because eggs and sperm have to be harvested and then fertilized outside of the womb and then *sorted out* as to which has the specific characteristics you're looking for. Once those are chosen, then the fertilized egg/s/embryos are implanted and hopefully take hold. Not all the implanted embryos survive. Then there's also the moral issue of the *other* excess fertilized eggs or embryos that are frozen in the labs for who knows what. I've read that IVF commonly results in several embryos per donor that are destined for destruction (or in other words, killed). That may be acceptable to some people, but not to others. You don't have that moral issue when using cord blood for straight transplants.

Genetics is very complicated, and much is still not known. I read an interesting bit of information from Eric Lax's book, Life and Death on 10 West. I don't have my own copy of the book, but what I recall he wrote was that there was a study done on BMTs using *identical twins* for CML cases. I believe there were 10 cases, and only *half* of the transplants were successful. Keep in mind these were transplants using *identical twins.* I realize that Lax's book was written in 1984, and hopefully they've learned a lot more about genetics and transplants, but how much more of a *perfect match* can you get than from an identical twin? If identical twins are not really identical, then maybe a sibling match isn't really perfect either or even a clone of yourself wouldn't be identical to you. Many variables change our cells.

Well, we can go round and round on this topic because there are so many feelings and angles involved. It's a very individual choice. When we get down to the end of our ropes, we all have different ways of tying the knot and holding on.

Just my 2 cents from a fellow AA traveller.

Marla