That's Fit

With his final days ticking away, UK journalist Adrian Sudbury has decided to use the rest of his life to make a difference for others. Sudbury was diagnosed with leukemia. He underwent a bone marrow transplant which, at first, seemed to be successful. Unfortunately, his cancer has returned and he has opted not to undergo any more intensive treatment. After two rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, Sudbury knew he had had enough treatment, but when the doctors gave him a 20% chance of survival with treatment it only served to solidify his decision.

Instead, Sudbury has chosen to advocate and bring awareness to treatment options in an effort to help others who are living with cancer. Though his cancer ultimately returned, Sudbury is a strong advocate for bone marrow transpants. On his blog, he states "I have one last little mission before I die. I'm determined to try and educate more people about it is like to a bone marrow donor. There are still 7,000 people -- children and adults in the UK alone -- who are waiting to find a match. Without your help they have no hope. At least I was given a chance."

There are two methods of bone marrow donation: bone marrow harvest, and the newer, less invasive method called peripheral blood stem cell donation. You learn about becoming a donor at the National Marrow Donor Program.

10 hours. Six operating rooms. Nine surgical teams. And six new kidneys.

Johns Hopkins surgeons performed six simultaneous kidney transplants -- a surgery believed to be the first of its kind. Five of the six transplant candidates had family members willing to donate a kidney, but were incompatible for their family member. When a sixth donor -- an altruistic donor who was willing to donate to anyone in need -- stepped in, the final necessary piece of the puzzle was found. The others who were willing to donate may not have been a match for their family member, but they were matches for others who were waiting for a transplant. The surgeries were successful, and the lead surgeon reports that all donors and transplant recipients are doing well.

While most donated kidneys come from deceased donors, live donors are preferred because the success rates are higher. The six patients in this series of operations were matched through a live donor matching system created by Johns Hopkins.

A story like this is best summed up just like a doctor put it by saying the case is "extremely unusual." After receiving a liver transplant at the age of nine, Demi-Lee Brennan's immune system literally switched over to that of her donor's. She now has a different blood type, and doctors say nothing like this has ever been observed before.

In the beginning, they discovered she had liver failure and required a transplant. But after the operation, stem cells from the transplanted organ made their way to her bone marrow. This is how the incredible switch took place. Now doctors are trying to figure out if they can replicate the same results for other transplant surgeries.

Considering that the human system can reject transplants, it would be extremely beneficial to find a way to make the body change its own makeup to adapt a healthier organ. Demi-Lee is perfectly fine now, so maybe some day we'll see these amazing results on a regular basis!