Sickle cell operation reported at Children's

[colleen10]

Sickle cell operation reported at Children's

Friday, September 12, 2003

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Doctors at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh announced today they have successfully performed a bone marrow transplant on a young child suffering from sickle cell disease, using an approach they said may lead to the cure of more people with the disease.

A press conference to discuss the procedure was set for today.

Bone marrow transplants are the only known cure for sickle cell disease, but the procedure has rarely been performed because side effects from the transplants, such as infections, can be fatal.

Hematologist Dr. Lakshmanan Krishnamurti performed the first successful bone marrow transplant on a patient with sickle cell disease at Children's Hospital, using a rare approach known as reduced-intensity transplant.

Austin Jones, 5, son of Anthony and Sarah Jones of Indiana, Pa., underwent the reduced-intensity transplant on Aug. 8. He has been recovering at Children's and tests show that his body has accepted the marrow donated by his 11-year-old brother, Anthony Jr.

"Our goal with Austin was to weaken his bone marrow with immunosuppressive drugs, not destroy it with chemotherapy, prior to transplant. By doing this, we were able to rid him of sickle cell disease and prevent the harmful side effects of transplant," Krishnamurti said in a press release.

"We hope that we can provide a cure for the more than 1,000 children born with sickle cell disease each year in the United States."

[renerian, BSN, RN]

Huh interesting. Had not read that but thanks for posting it.

renerian