News from the National Marrow Donor Program

New Resource for Parents of Transplant Patients

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has a new Web resource for parents of pediatric transplant patients. “When Your Child Needs a Transplant” can help parents make choices, talk with doctors and prepare the whole family for a child’s transplant.

If you are the parent of a child who will be treated with transplant, visit www.marrow.org/parentsguide to find information to help you:
•           Make treatment choices and talk with doctors
•           Prepare for your child’s transplant
•           Talk with your child about transplant
•           Support a teenager through transplant
•           Help your child cope with hospitalization
•           Support your child’s education during and after transplant
•           Plan for your child’s follow-up health care for the long term

Caregiver Survey Results

The NMDP’s Office of Patient Advocacy and BMT InfoNet conducted a survey to learn more about caregiver’s experiences caring for blood and marrow transplant patients. We are using what we learned to improve our resources for transplant patients and caregivers.

Of the 291 people who responded, the most common caregiving task was providing emotional support to the patient. This was also one of the biggest challenges, along with meeting the caregiver’s own personal needs and balancing other family and work responsibilities. The good news is that many caregivers reported a good working relationship with the patient’s health care team and could rely on friends, family and others for support.

When asked for advice, caregivers emphasized the need for new caregivers to take care of themselves and to ask for and accept help. If you are a new caregiver, you may find some useful information in the “Caregiving” section of the NMDP’s Patient Resources Web site at www.marrow.org/patient.

Celebrating 25,000 Second Chances

July 2006 marked a milestone: more than 25,000 patients have received an unrelated donor marrow or cord blood transplant through the National Marrow Donor Program. Because of advances in transplant, today more patients can be treated with transplants and more patients have better results from their transplants.

BMT Clinical Trials Network Study