Well, I better get this blog going.

Three weeks ago, my doctor still did not have a matching marrow donor. There are over 11 million registered marrow donors in the world and I do not have anyone that matches at least 7 out of 10 alleles (tissue typing numbers), the minimum number needed to match to perform a marrow transplant to cure my non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

But my doctor did have two baby cord units that she was looking at. One cord was from the Belgium cord bank and one was from the Australian cord bank. The cords have to be a minimum of 4 out of 6 alleles to me. The cords do not have to be 7 out of 10 like adult marrow since the baby stem cells are immature, more flexible and do not have as memory.

The tail of each cord was mailed to the City of Hope for confirmation testing. The following is a matching of my six numbers (A, B, DRB1 - two numbers for each) with the two cords:


Steve (my #'s) A (0301 / 3303) B (3801 / 5101) DRB1 (1201 / 1302)

Belgium Cord A (0301 /3303) B (5801 /5101) DRB1 (0101 /1302)

Australian Cord A (03xx / 33xx) B (58xx /51xx) DRB1 (1505 / 1302)

The Belgium Cord is one year old (born in 2007) and the Australian Cord is 10 years old (born in 1998). The Australian Cord has a Middle Eastern background.

Each cord was 4 of 6 to me and 5 of 6 to each other. Both frozen cords were mailed to the City of Hope Hospital with arrival of both cords completed on December 10, 2008.

On December 11, 2008, I was admitted to the City of Hope Hospital in Duarte, CA to start my Matched Unrelated Multiple Cord Blood Transplantation. To get the body ready to accept the new stem cells from the cords and not attack them, the regimen consists of one day of a very strong chemotherapy drug, Cytoxan; five days of a moderate chemotherapy drug, Fludarabine; two days of anti-rejection drugs (Cyclosporin and Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF / Cellcept); and one single dose of 200 centiGrays (cGy) of total body irradiation (TBI).

As part of my regimen, I would receive a single dose of total body irradiation (TBI) to help lower my immune system and prepare my body for accepting the new baby stem cells. I had a radiation consultation to measure me for the event which would occur the following week on December 17th. They laid me next to the huge linear accelerator which would shoot electrons into my body and measured the distance of my body to the machine at several points (head, throat, chest, waist, knee and foot) and the thickness of my body in those areas that the electrons would have to enter. I hope they did they measurements correct. I do not want to lose an eye or a toe.

So far, I have been in the hospital for six days. Tomorrow, I receive the radiation and then Thursday I receive the double cord transplantation. I've been nauseous on and off due to the chemo and the hospital food quality.

That's it for now. I am going to rest a bit! Please pray that all goes well!

My name is Steven Measer and I am in need of a bone marrow (stem cell) transplant. I am the husband of St. Dorothy Teacher Elaine Measer and father to St. Dorothy 7th Grader Matthew Measer and St. Lucy High School Junior Jacqueline Measer. I has been fighting an extremely aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Burkitt's type) for the past 3 years (started in July 2005). I am at a point in my treatment where I can no longer receive chemotherapy as the drugs are doing more harm than good. I have received 17 chemotheraphy treatments and 14 lumbar punctures (most with chemo infusions) in the past three years. I am in need of a life-saving bone marrow transplant and have been looking for a matching donor. There are currently 7 million registered donors nationwide and 11 million worldwide. My doctor checks the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) daily but currently there are no matches to my tissue type. You could be the ONE! Please register your bone marrow with the National Marrow Donor Program. My doctor has access to the Donor Registry which is checked daily to see if a match is made. The Donor Registry can be joined in several ways. The only requirement to join is that you are between 18 and 60 years of age and are in good health. Each year, 10,000 people across the U.S. are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma. A genetically matching transplant may save their lives, but only 3 out of 10 patients will find a match in their family. The rest must search a registry to find that one caring stranger willing to donate his or her marrow or blood cells. Each of us has the unique power to save a life, but we must be typed and registered so that patients can find us. Patients with a rare genetic type, especially racial or ethnic minorities, have difficulty finding a matching donor and getting the transplant they need. For example, 83% of African American/Black patients who needed a transplant in 2007 could NOT find a match. We must eliminate this disparity and help everyone in need by building the largest and most diverse registry possible. Countless people with leukemia, lymphoma, or 70 other blood-related and genetic diseases have died needlessly because they could not locate that one unique donor. We have the technology and the science to make transplant a viable option for patients of all ages and from all walks of life. If we also had a larger and more diverse potential donor pool, then all patients could have a life-saving option. With committed donors and renewed hope, thousands of lives would be saved. We can all help and have a roll in saving lives. Think about it - citizens learning about the great need and coming together to join the registry for the sake of a stranger in need. This opportunity allows each of us to commit and contribute in a truly unique and life-changing way. We can also get the word out and encourage others to register. If it were your mother, father, sister, brother, or friend, wouldn't you hope that there were strangers out there willing to give the gift of life?

Why You Should Help

The NMDP relies on its fundraising partner, The Marrow Foundation, to collect contributions from people like you so that it can further its mission. I hope you'll consider making a contribution today. Your gift WILL help save lives!

Please visit www.marrow.org or email your address to brunomazer@aol.com and I will have a free cheek swab kit mailed to your home so that you can join the registry and save a life.

Also check out the following YouTube video explaining the need for bone marrow donors - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83EoPkw5OJs

Thank you,

Steven Measer

brunomazer@aol.com