September 28: One day after transplant

Last night (September 27) the transplant donor’s stem cells were infused into Sujata’s blood stream and the process went without a hitch. But not without a few anxious, nail-biting moments, I have to say. We had been told that the infusion process would start around 12:00 noon, so I arrived at the hospital early in the morning and waited. Kate, Anjali and Rahul were here too at various times and waited and waited! Noon turned to early afternoon and then to late afternoon, and soon it was dark outside. Nothing had started. The attending nurse, a really wonderful lady, sensed our anxiety. She told us that the stem cells were coming from a “far off land” and had not arrived yet, but not to worry. We would just have to be patient. Then around 8:00 pm a young man in a white coat hurriedly walked in with a little box that looked like a cooler, and there was jubilation and subdued cheers among the nurses. It had arrived – two little pouches of stem cells with inspection stamps from several labs. The infusion process was relatively simple. They gave Sujata some sedative, hooked her up to various monitors and, then for the next three hours, infused the cells into her through the implanted catheter as she slept. See picture above and more pictures in the album on left. The pouch with the red liquid is the one with the stem cells.

What to expect next:

Sujata’s blood counts, specially the white blood count, have been going down gradually. The doctors told us that it would fall to very low levels, making her extremely vulnerable to infections. Then the transplanted stem cells will gradually start doing their job and making new blood cells—hopefully healthy ones. Of course, rejection of the cells and other complications are likely to occur and will probably occur to some extent. As preventive measures, the doctors will be giving her a large regimen of medication. As of today, Sujata is doing reasonably well, still able to chat with visitors and eat some home cooked food.

Heartfelt thanks from the Kar family.

I think this is the appropriate time and the right forum for us, Sujata, Gautam, Anjali, Rahul and Kate, to express our heartfelt thanks to the bone marrow stem cell donor. We do not know who the person is or where he or she lives. By US law the identity of the person cannot be revealed to us for a year. When that day comes, we all hope that we can tell this wonderful human being that we owe him/her a lifelong debt of gratitude. God bless you.