Volume 25
Number 8
April 18, 2014
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
(L. to r.) Wendy Hancock’s wedding last spring was made even more special by the attendance of Meghan Shaffer, her bone marrow donor.
THE GIFT OF LIFE INTO FRIENDSHIP There was no reason for Meghan Shaffer and Wendy Hancock to know each other. After all, they had nothing in common. Wendy lived in Pennsylvania and had recently given birth. Meghan was a young nursing student at the University of Michigan. But Fate had other plans for them.
How It All Started Shortly after her daughter was born in June 2011, Wendy developed a fever that wouldn’t go away. Antibiotics didn’t seem to solve the problem and a “ton of tests” all came back negative. But she continued to run a fever and was in increasing pain. Finally, four weeks after giving birth, “the bone pain
INSIDE Helping the Homeless Help Themselves ......................2 Volunteer Opportunities for Teenagers ............................2 Helping People All the Time....3 Aitken Receives Recognition Award...................3
was so bad, I couldn’t move,” she recalled. A subsequent bone marrow biopsy revealed that she had leukemia. Wendy was admitted to HUP emergently and started chemotherapy. To give her the best chance of being cured, her oncologist, Selina Luger, MD, director of Penn’s Leukemia Program, determined that Wendy would need a bone marrow transplant as part of her treatment. Her name was immediately entered into Be the Match (a part of the National Marrow Donor Program). She continued to receive treatment for her leukemia while they looked for a donor. By October they had found a match.
A Chance Occurrence In 2010, Meghan was heading to class when she noticed a group of students asking people to become bone marrow donors. She stopped, had her cheek swabbed, and continued on her way, not giving it a second thought. A year and a half later, in the fall of 2011, she got a call from Be the Match, asking if
she would come in for additional testing. The results from this subsequent blood test — followed by a thorough physical (“The longest one of my life.”) — showed she was, indeed, a good match and healthy enough to donate. “I didn’t think I’d be called when I signed up but once I found out I was a match, how could I say no? I just asked ‘What do I have to do and when?’”
How A Match is Made When it comes to compatibility between donor and recipient, bone marrow transplants have stringent requirements. Ironically, matching blood type is unimportant. The essential components are human leukocyte antigens (HLAs), which are proteins that serve as markers on most cells in a person’s body. The immune system uses these markers to recognize which cells belong in your body (or don’t) and they also play a role in stimulating the development of antibodies, which can lead to organ rejection. Prior to any transplant at HUP — (Continued on page 4)
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