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Bone Marrow Patients Celebrate Life After Transplant on Saturday, May 21

May 20, 2005
News Office: Vanessa deGier (415) 476-2557

The adult Bone Marrow Transplant Center at UCSF Medical Center will host its 18th annual reunion event for patients and their families on Saturday, May 21 with an afternoon reception that celebrates life.

WHO: Patients who have undergone bone marrow transplants at UCSF Medical Center will be special guests, along with their families.

More than 75 transplant recipients are expected to attend, ranging from young adults to patients over 70 years in age. Many of the patients have been living disease free for more than 10 years after transplantation.

Patient care staff will also attend, providing the opportunity for patients to reunite with the doctors and staff who were responsible for their care.

WHAT: The 18th Annual Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Reunion of UCSF Medical Center.

WHERE: UCSF Faculty Alumni House, 745 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco

WHEN: Noon to 3:00 p.m., Saturday, May 21 (A group photo of the recipients and the patient care team will be taken about 1:30 p.m.)

INTERVIEWS: Bone marrow transplant patients and Dr. Charles Linker, will be available for interviews. Linker is director of the adult leukemia and bone marrow transplant program at UCSF Medical Center.

Linker will speak during the reunion about the importance of bone marrow transplant, donation and future developments in transplantation.

CONTACT: To arrange interviews or cover the reunion, contact Vanessa deGier at (415) 476-2557.

UCSF MEDICAL CENTER: UCSF Medical Center is a leader in bone marrow transplants and has performed over 1,700 transplants. UCSF offers both aggressive and non-aggressive approaches for treating patients with a variety of diseases, including cancers such as leukemia, brain tumors, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplasis, genetic diseases and severe immunodeficiency disorders.

ABOUT BONE MARROW TRANPLANTATION: Bone marrow transplant (BMT), also called stem cell transplant, is a procedure in which diseased or damaged bone marrow cells are replaced with healthy ones. Bone marrow and stem cell transplants enable doctors to treat cancer with aggressive chemotherapy and radiation because they can replace the bone marrow cells destroyed during treatment. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, only 30 percent of patients who need a bone marrow transplant will find a matching donor in their family, while 70 percent will need to rely on volunteer donors.

INFORMATION ABOUT DONATION: For information about becoming a bone marrow donor, contact National Marrow Donor Program 1-800-627-7692.

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