"New Urgency in Push for Radiation Drugs" (Business Day, April 1) says bone marrow transplants cannot be done on a mass scale.
Dr. Freddie H. Fu, chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said, "Bone marrow is a good source of stem cells, but I don't think there is any definitive evidence to show that it will benefit a condition like this".
Experience with lymphoma patients, who receive a transplant of their own blood or bone cells after radiation to wipe out their cancer, has shown "there's no doubt it helps," says bone marrow transplant expert Nelson Chao of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
It's not clear whether donated stem cell transplants helped some Chernobyl workers survive; they received several different types of cells, and there was no control group, says bone marrow transplant expert David Weinstock of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
He and his family say bone-marrow and kidney diseases have made him too ill for trial.
"They say bone-marrow cells could become liver, heart, brain — we don't need these immoral embryonic stem cells!
He was listening to a radio program in which the guest said bone-marrow donors were badly needed.
One of the provisions of the bill permits the creation of "savior siblings" — children created via in vitro fertilization (I.V.F). to ensure their tissues will match those of a sick older brother or sister, in order that the new child could provide, say, a bone marrow transplant.
The DonateLives app did not capitalize on my altruism by also offering me a way to commit to, say, a bone marrow sample or a blood donation.
Dr. Richard J. O'Reilly, chief of the marrow transplant program and chairman of the department of pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centhes, said the bone marrow's cells act as a factory producing blood.
Its executive chef, Bill Telepan, said, "I'll keep bone marrow off my menu until I find out what the situation is".
