Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 17, 1990 TAG: 9005170395
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
"I just know it's going to work," Denise Sancilio, mother of Michael and Christina Sancilio, said Wednesday. "We're full of love around here. We think that prevails over everything else no matter what."
Sancilio said she and her husband, Tony, made their decision this week after receiving additional test results that show almost conclusively that 2-week-old Christina will be a compatible transplant donor for Michael.
In the next few weeks, the siblings will go to the transplant center at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. There, one final test for compatibility will be completed, and the children will undergo preliminary evaluations necessary for Michael's transplant.
Umbilical cord and placental blood to be used for Michael's transplant was collected during Christina's birth by Caesarean section two weeks ago at Virginia Beach General Hospital. The blood was flown to Indiana and Duke universities, where it was analyzed and frozen.
Cord blood is the purest and richest supply of stem cells, which generate cells that produce bone marrow and blood, including white and red blood cells and platelets.
In a blood transplant, about 5 ounces of the cord blood would be fed into Michael's heart through a catheter. The stem cells are expected to settle in the bones, where they would begin to produce healthy cells to replace diseased bone marrow.
"The issue will be whether there's an adequate supply of stem cells," said Dr. Rebecca Byrd of Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, who is coordinating Michael's care. "We'll know that in about two weeks."
If for any reason the blood transplant cannot be done or is unsuccessful, Christina can still act as a donor for a later bone marrow transplant, giving Michael two chances to survive, Byrd said.
Michael was diagnosed through routine blood tests just four weeks before his sister was born. Other than bruising, he exhibits no symptoms.
"He doesn't understand the full extent of his illness," Denise Sancilio said. "But we've got this thing, I actually have him say . . . `I will get better. I won't be sick. I will get better. I won't be sick.' He pounds his fist on the counter and says it. He's got to feel that. He's got to be positive. I keep stressing that."
One of the excruciating factors of the decision Michael's parents have faced is balancing the safety of the two children. The blood transplant is safer for Christina because the blood already has been collected. The operation also can be done sooner than a bone marrow transplant, buying precious months for Michael, who has been given 8 to 10 months to live.
A bone marrow transplant is safer for Michael because it has a better track record, but it is more dangerous for Christina because she must be sedated with anesthesia.
The blood transplant has been performed three times, once in this country and twice in France.
It will take from four to six weeks after the first operation to determine if it is successful.
Denise Sancilio and the two children plan to move to Baltimore to live with family for up to three months.
"We're getting a lot of support from everyone," she Sancilio said. "He's going to need it."
by CNB