bone marrow news stories on Newser

Canada OKs World's 1st Stem Cell Therapy

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:59:05 CDT

Canada has approved the world's first stem cell treatment for a systemic disease, Reuters reports. This week, the nation's health regulators allowed doctors to use the drug Prochymal for children with graft-versus host disease (GvHD), a sometimes deadly side-effect from bone marrow transplants. GvHd kills up to 80% of afflicted...

UK's First IVF 'Savior Sibling' Saves 9-Year-Old Girl

Matt Cantor — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 10:27:41 CST

A British girl is on the mend from a life-threatening illness after an IVF “savior sibling” provided her with bone marrow, the Guardian reports. With their daughter suffering from a bone marrow-destroying disease, a couple couldn’t find a donor—so they had doctors create six IVF embryos and screen them...

Flirty Models Roped Guys Into $4K Bone Marrow Test

Kevin Spak — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 07:04:05 CST

How do you get a guy to sign up to be a potential bone marrow donor? Simple: Hire models to canvas malls in high heels, short skirts, and lab coats—and don’t mention that after they take a swab of his DNA, his insurance will be billed up to $4,...

Lion King Star, 11, Dies of Cancer

Rob Quinn — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:23:19 CDT

A young girl with a giant voice who won an open audition for a role in the Broadway production of The Lion King has died of leukemia at the age of 11. Shannon Tavarez spent seven months performing in the show before she was diagnosed in April. Thousands of people,...

HIV Hides in Bone Marrow: Researchers

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:45:00 CST

The virus that causes AIDS can hide in the bone marrow, avoiding drugs and later awakening to cause illness, according to new research that could point the way toward better treatments for the disease. Finding that hideout is a first step, but years of research lie ahead. Dr. Kathleen Collins...

Rihanna Helps Girl Dying of Leukemia

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:40:26 CST

Moved by a video of a young African American girl with leukemia, Rihanna is helping her find a bone marrow donor, People reports. It's the second time the singer has helped a leukemia sufferer seek a match. "When I saw the video of Jasmina it broke my heart," Rihanna said....

Mom Gets Trachea Grown From Own Stem Cells

Peter Fearon — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:49:49 CST

In a frontier-busting surgery, transplant doctors have given a young woman a trachea developed in a lab using the patient's own stem cells. Stem cells from the patient's trachea and bone marrow were used to create a new rejection-proof organ in the surgery, performed in Spain in June, reports the...

Cancer Treatment May Have Cured Man's AIDS

Katherine Thompson — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:03:45 CST

A German doctor has inspired hope for a new approach to AIDS treatment with his handling of a leukemia case, the Wall Street Journal reports. Because the patient also had AIDS, Gero Hütter looked for a bone marrow donor with a specific mutation that seems to stymie the HIV virus....

Doggy Wants a Bone...Transplant

Erin Mendell — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:50:00 CDT

Doggy wants a bone, and he deserves it too. Canines will soon be lining up at Washington State University for bone marrow transplants, enjoying a little payback after pooches made the procedure possible in people, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. But the cancer treatment won't come cheap: WSU will treat man’s...