Roger has developed antibodies to a couple of RH factors that are present in the blood of 98% of the population. He could have a severe allergic reaction to red blood cells. This makes getting transfusions problematic. He’s never had problems with transfusions, but apparently the pros in Missoula have been scrambling behind the scenes to make sure he's had the good stuff all along. And we didn't even know it.
This means a blood supply that works for Roger will be rare and hard to find. It will be difficult for the blood bank to keep a large supply on hand. Keep your fingers crossed he doesn’t need much.
This sounds dire, I know. It is another risk we don’t need. But the docs here are good at contingency planning. They are working out 'Plan B' and 'Plan C' strategies for emergencies, including giving Roger “bad blood followed by good blood” and/or giving him steroids and other drugs with transfusions to control his body’s response.
The good news is that once Robert's stem cells are reproducing in Roger's body, these antibodies should be wiped out. Our best plan now is to go forward, armed and ready.
Keeping my fingers & toes crossed (my eyes are just naturally that way) that all goes well. Think of you both every day. Thank you so much for taking the time out to keep us all up to date. You're amazing, Candi!
ReplyDeleteThanks for staying in touch. There's no such thing as too much positive energy.
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