So Much Transplant News, so Little Time

The Today show (my everyday news fix) recently had a look back at the baby born to give her older sister a bone marrow transplant.  I remember that case like it was yesterday, but it happened twenty years ago.  Oh yeah, I'm aging. (And for any HTP, that's a GOOD thing!)  Today, Anissa Ayala is leukemia free and her younger sister Marissa, an "outgoing college senior," says she's "happy to belong to this family." Of course, the Ayala case gave birth to a lot of controversy, with regard to informed consent (how can a newborn give consent) and the issue of "baby farming" (see Jodi Picoult's novel, My Sister's Keeper) {shiver}.

For her part, Marissa has never been fazed by critics who question why she came into this world. “They don’t know my family, and they probably don’t put themselves in our shoes and ask themselves, ‘Would I do this for my child?’ ” she told Vieira.

Michael Inbar, Born to Save her Sister's Life, MSNBC,  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43265160

To tell you the truth, I don't agree with Abe and Mary Ayala's decision, but they looked everywhere for a bone marrow transplant for their 16-year-old daughter, to no avail. They exhausted every avenue. And, the resulting controversy over Marissa's conception encouraged a HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE to register as marrow donors. Wow.  Even the comments below the story tell of a guy who registered due to this story and was just contacted to be a donor.  What ripples this pebble had!

In other news, a 13 year old Arizona boy was killed when his heart stopped suddenly after being hit in the chest with a pitch as he tried to bunt.  It's a rare condition called "commotio cortis."  Shocking.  Lets keep the family of Hayden Walton in our thoughts and prayers.