![Mayo Clinic home page [logo]](/images-global/mayologo.gif)
Discover how you can help support Mayo Clinic.
G13 - March 2006 - Bone Marrow Transplants in Kids
Intro: It's a parent's worst nightmare. Being told that your child has a serious and deadly disease. Thankfully, advances in medicine are keeping many children with diseases like leukemia or other blood diseases alive. One of those advances is the bone marrow transplant. More on how this transplant is saving kid's lives from Mayo Clinic.
| Video | Audio |
Total running time 1:35 |
"[SINGING] TWINKLE, TWINKLE LITTLE STAR ... ." WHEN TINY RILEE BJERKE WAS JUST 3 YEARS OLD, THE HOSPITAL STAFF USED MUSIC TO DISTRACT HER AS SHE STRUGGLED WITH A POTENTIALLY DEADLY DISEASE. |
Nicole Bjerke |
"SHE HAD TO BE ON TRANSFUSIONS TO STAY ALIVE." |
| BUT LUCKILY RILEE, WHO'S NOW 6, REMEMBERS HER BATTLE WITH APLASTIC ANEMIA ONLY FROM THE PICTURES OF HER MANY WEEKS IN THE HOSPITAL. | |
Rilee Bjerke |
"THIS IS WHEN I WAS SLEEPING IN THE WAGON. DR. KHAN." |
Shakila Khan, M.D. |
"APLASTIC ANEMIA IS CAUSED BY IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION." |
| AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER CAUSES. DR. SHAKILA KHAN SAYS WHAT HAPPENED WAS RILEE'S BONE MARROW, WHICH PRODUCES BLOOD CELLS, STOPPED WORKING. SHE NEEDED A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT TO MAKE IT TO HER 4TH BIRTHDAY. | |
| Nicole Bjerke | "IT WAS VERY HARD EMOTIONALLY. NOT KNOWING IF SHE WAS GOING TO MAKE IT." |
Standup |
TO HAVE A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SIBLING, PARENT OR UNRELATED DONOR WHOSE TISSUE TYPING MATCHES YOURS. RILEE'S SISTER DIDN'T MATCH, BUT AN UNRELATED DONOR DID. |
Shakila Khan, M.D. |
"THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT IS TO GET RID OF RILEE'S DEFECTIVE MARROW AND REPLACE IT WITH HEALTHY MARROW." |
Animation |
DOCTORS DO THIS BY COLLECTING STEM CELLS FROM THE DONOR MARROW. FIRST THE PATIENT HAS CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIATION TO WIPE OUT THE BONE MARROW. THEN THE STEM CELLS FROM THE DONOR MARROW ARE INJECTED INTO THE BLOODSTREAM THROUGH AN IV. THE STEM CELLS MIGRATE AND FORM NEW MARROW THAT HOPEFULLY PRODUCES BLOOD CELLS NORMALLY. |
| IT WORKED FOR RILEE. NOW SHE'S DISEASE FREE. AND ENJOYING LIFE LIKE ANY OTHER KID. | |
| FOR MEDICAL EDGE, I'M VIVIEN WILLIAMS. | |
Tag: Rilee was the first child at Mayo Clinic to have a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. It's not an easy process to go through -- some patients don't make it. But Rilee did. And she says she wants to be a rock star when she grows up. For more information on aplastic anemia or bone marrow transplants, log on to our Web site at ...
STATIONS: Per the licensing agreement, please provide a link from your station's Web site to www.mayoclinic.org/medical-edge or voice tag "mayoclinic.org/medical-edge" for more information.
.
