Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) – the main complication of allogeneic stem cell transplants – is the exact opposite of solid organ rejection: instead of your body rejecting the new organ, the new organ (the donor immune system) rejects you. In the acute post-transplant period, GVHD typically manifests as an itchy skin rash, gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, […]
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center performs around 215 stem cell and bone marrow transplants each year, providing care leading up to the transplant, through all aspects of the procedure, and indefinitely after the transplant to monitor for complications. To address some common questions about the procedure, we spoke with Madan Jagasia, M.D., director of the Outpatient […]
It’s been two years since Joan Meredith’s stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Although she is now “100 percent donor” and her new immune system appears to be functioning well, she remains vigilant against the health complications related to her transplant – like infections, for example. “I hated wearing the mask because I […]
