My grandfather is having a bone marrow transplant?

Question

He has multiple myeloma and they just took him to geet him started on the transplant but they told him that they couldn't do anything with his marrow so can I see if I am a match and how good are the odds that we are a match. Its my mothers dad and we both have the same blood type. Any help. And does anyone know how long they usually have to live when the docs say "there is nothing else we can do"?

Answer 1

If the doctors say "there is nothing else we can do", he is serious about it and let us just pray for divine intervention. I am a medical practitioner and I know how fast Multiple Myeloma patients go if the doctors say there is nothing else we can do. But as  I've said, please pray hard. Who knows miracles stil do happen.

Answer 2

I am a stem cell transplant (the medically correct term for a bone marrow transplant) patient as well, but for leukemia, not mm.

Odds are you are not a match.  Siblings are the best chance with 1 in 4, then parents or children at 1 in 8.  Anything beyond that is not likely to match.  In fact, most insurance companies wont pay to test anyone outside of siblings/parents/children.

If he does not have a related match, his dootors will search the international marrow registries.  If you are 18 or older, you can sign up for the registry.  If you are a possble match, you will pop up with the search.  If you would like to be privatly tested, you need to be in contact with his docs to get that arranged.  If you are a minor, you will need parental consent.

The matching is done by HLA (human leukocyte antigen) tissue type and actually has nothing to do with blood type.  In fact, my donor was a completly different blood type.

If you can donate, there are two different ways of donating, and his doc will make that decision.  The first way is actual bone marrow.  They will use long needles to pull it out of the hip.  Contrary to popular belief, you will not be in pain because you will be under general anesthsia.  You will be sore for a week or so after though.  

However, more commonly donation is peripheral blood stem cells.  They are harvested using a aphersis machine, its the same process as at the plasma center or some red cross donations.  The process takes a couple hours, you will be stuck by a couple needles, but its not painful and not a big deal.

I cant tell you how much longer he has to live without the transplant, or with.  No one can.