Replies

Question: if the lady has had all of her own bone marrow destroyed by chemo and has new bone marrow transplanted, what is the effect on her DNA? Does this change her DNA? Forever? Does her blood type now match other sources for her DNA, such as the cells in her cheek?

This is a great human interest story, but my daughter and I were discussing the possibilities for a mystery story...

When you plant bone marrow, you keep the red and white cells matching the bone marrow that was planted.

So her DNA of the blood would be that of the marrow donor, not hers...

Here is a discussion of DNA evidence in crime:

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mblood.html

Here is a discussion of bone marrow (i.e. stem cells in bone marrow)
http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Generalinformation/Bonemarrowandstemcells

In the past, when matching bone marrows weren't as exact, people would develop a "graft versus host" reaction, that could be fatal.

Now the matches are better, and the anti rejection drugs are better.
http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Treatments/Stemcellbonemarrowtransplants/Generalinformation/Graftversushostdisease

many parents are storing their children's "cord blood" at birth just in case the child needs such a tranplant...

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1160.asp

And I work with many native Americans...and many tribes have active programs to recruit bone marrow donors, since the DNA would be closer in the same racial/genetic background... for example, many local pow wows have booths set up to recruit donors...

The fact as I understand it (my grandaughter's life was saved through an unrelated donor's stem cells) is that, her DNA is changed from what it was.

This was one of my questions after all was said and done and my son told me that it was changed (he is not often off on fact or trivia, which this fact had certainly become (trivia) in relation to the entire ordeal.)

My granddaughter had an umbilical cord bone marrow transplant at 15 months old. She never made enough white blood cells, and then her bone marrow began failing and the red blood cell count began to fall, despite nightly shots of stimulating factors.

Roni had O neg blood, karyotype 46, XX. Her donor was a little boy (46 XY), with type A+ blood, matching about 70% of her immune markers. Now, Roni's blood is A +, 46 XY. She had to have her shots again, because all of the (too few) white blood cells that were exposed to the immunizations where destroyed by the chemotherapy that killed the rest of her bone marrow. From the transplant on, all cells that are derived from the bone marrow will be those of the donor.

(I think she can be a Baptist preacher, now, but, I'm not sure :) )

The DNA of her other cell lines, including her ovaries, heart, skin, etc. are her's - 46 XX. But, wherever cells grow from stem cells in the bone marrow, from now on, they will be from the donor.

It turns out that this sort of transplant of stem cells has always occurred in nature: we've found that mothers of boys may have male cells in the thyroid, liver, etc.