Finding a Stem Cell Donor
When should I start looking for a suitable donor?
If your doctor thinks you may be a candidate for a bone marrow bone marrow: The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Kirk R. Schultz, MD
Institution
British Columbia Children’s Hospital
Physician Status
accepting new patients
Primary Disease Area of Focus
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Aplastic Anemia
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)
Pediatric
About
Dr. Kirk Schultz is a Professor at the University of British Columbia, BC Children’s Hospital, and the Child and Family research Institute (CFRI) who has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. He is a Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist focused on new therapies and rejection in Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT) and immune therapy of blood cancers.Dr. Schultz was the recipient of the CIHR/Wyeth Clinical Research Chair in Transplantation and is past chair of the Pediatric BMT Consortium the largest children’s BMT clinical trials group in the world. He was recently
End-of-Life Resources
The Aplastic Anemia Aplastic Anemia: (ay-PLASS-tik uh-NEE_mee-uh) A rare and serious condition in which the bone marrow fails to make enough blood cells - red blood cells, whit
Lukasz Gondek, M.D., Ph.D.
Institution
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Physician Status
accepting new patients
Primary Disease Area of Focus
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
About
Dr. Gondek is a current Evans Fellow at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Oncology, working with Dr. Amy Dezern on research related to signaling pathways in MDS stem cells. Dr. Gondek explained that the mechanism of progression in MDS is poorly understood, and he hopes through his work to clarify some of the factors that contribute to progression. He is the Principal Investigator on one pilot project currently underway within the MDS Clinical Research Consortium, working with a particular signaling pathway named the Hedgehog pathway. Dr. Gondek describes the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway
David Margolis, MD
Institution
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Physician Status
accepting new patients
Primary Disease Area of Focus
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Aplastic Anemia
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH)
Pediatric
About
David Margolis, MD, received his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1989. He is currently a professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, located in Milwaukee, and is program director of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program. His clinical and research interests include taking care of children and young adults with aplastic anemia as well as alternative donor blood and bone marrow transplants for children and young adults with aplastic anemia, sickle cell anemia and leukemia.
Blood Transfusion Safety and Risks
Negative side effects of blood transfusion therapy are uncommon. Blood banks, hospitals, and health-care providers take many precautions to minimize risks before each blood transfusion.
Blood banks test each unit of blood to find out its ABO type and Rh status. In the United States, after a hospital laboratory receives a blood unit from the blood bank, the laboratory tests the unit again.
Types of Blood Transfusions
The parts of blood used in a transfusion depend on why the patient needs the transfusion.
Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD
Institution
Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson Cancer Center
Physician Status
accepting new patients
Primary Disease Area of Focus
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Aplastic Anemia
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)
About
My main academic and clinical objective is to, if not cure, at least contribute to significantly better outcomes for patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). I am the Chief of the Section of MDS in the Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson Cancer Center. I have built this into the largest clinical program of its class. One hundred percent of my research and clinical effort is devoted to patients with MDS.
Christopher Cogle, MD
Institution
University of Florida Health Cancer Center
Physician Status
accepting new patients
Primary Disease Area of Focus
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Aplastic Anemia
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)
About
Dr. Cogle is an associate professor of medicine at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He has clinical and research expertise in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. Dr. Cogle leads a research laboratory that studies the biology of MDS and AML, and his group has successfully translated his discoveries into new treatments for patients. Dr. Cogle’s goal is to fi nd cures for MDS and leukemia, educate patients and providers about the distinct heterogeneity of these diseases, educate policy makers that blood cancers are a
Olatoyosi Odenike, MD
Institution
University of Chicago Medicine
Physician Status
accepting new patients
Primary Disease Area of Focus
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)
About
Dr. Odenike is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Leukemia Program at the University of Chicago. Her clinical interests are in acute and chronic leukemias, myeloproliferative neoplasms, myelodysplastic syndromes, and stem cell transplantation. Her research is focused on the development of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of acute and chronic leukemias, and chronic myeloproliferative diseases, with the ultimate goal of improving treatment options for patients with these diseases. She is the principal investigator on a number of clinical trials investigating molecularly targeted