This morning we got the results back on the Chimeraism test. In that the donor's bone marrow's stem cells are different than Sue's, if the transplant works properly Sue will have the donor's blood system. For example, the donor has red blood type A positive and Sue was type O positive. In addition, the genetics although "matched" are obviously not identical so the new white blood cells will be the donor's in term of genetics. In Greek mythology there was a fantastical creature called the Chimera which contained parts of several different species of animals. So the term came over for bone marrow transplants to indicate the oddity of having the combination of the recipient and donor.
Well, the test showed 100% donor genetics in the blood. So this means that the new white blood cells are all from the bone marrow donation's successful engraftment. This is a major milestone in this whole procedure. As I mentioned yesterday, Sue is continuing to do well, but it is definitely a slow process.
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