Puerto Rican donor gives renewed life to Iowan with fatal bone marrow disorder

No cure.

Those chilling words shook 60-year-old Peter Kurt in the spring of 2000. "That's when I was diagnosed with myelofibrosis-myeloid metaplasia (a bone marrow disorder with no known cure)," said Kurt, a farmer from Bernard, Iowa. "I was told I had one to three years to live."

Kurt wasn't about to give up, so he turned to the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa. His initial evaluation and care there was provided by hematologist-oncologist C. Patrick Burns, M.D.

In consultation with Burns, Kurt received further evaluation in the multidisciplinary cancer center from Margarida Silverman, M.D., a specialist in bone marrow transplantation. Silverman thought Kurt was a good candidate for a bone marrow transplant.

Before a transplant could be performed, however, a suitable bone marrow donor had to be found. The search initially focused on Kurt's nine brothers and sisters. Each was tested to see if they shared his tissue type. Unfortunately, none of them did.

Kurt's hopes now rested on the outcome of an international search for a life-saving match, using the national unrelated donor registry. This exhaustive search ended two years later and 2,000 miles away. The generous donor, 35-year-old Alexandra Fernandez Navarro, a lawyer from San Juan, Puerto Rico, provided a good match.

Narvarro's marrow donation in Puerto Rico enabled Kurt to receive his transplant in Iowa on April 4, 2002.

Kurt met his donor for the first time when Navarro traveled to Iowa in November, 2003 for a bone marrow transplant reunion sponsored by the Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit at UI Hospitals and Clinics and the Iowa Marrow Donor Program.

" I hope this is the successful beginning of a new life for me," Kurt said.

Stem cells are collected from the donor's hip under general anesthesia, or from the donor's blood after marrow stimulation. The donor's stem cells are given to the patient by vein. The marrow finds its way to the inside of major bones and begins to produce new and normal blood cells in about two weeks.

Why donors are needed

More than 30,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed each year with diseases treatable by a blood stem cell transplant. Of the patients needing to receive healthy blood stem cells from someone else, only 30 percent have a suitable family match--meaning the rest must rely on unrelated donors.

Who can donate?

Candidates include:

• tissue-matched family member
• tissue-matched unrelated donor or
• the patient, who can have healthy cells stored for future use, if needed

Exhausted by the fast pace, Colleen Chapleau could only smile at the conclusion of a 42-mile ride with cycling legend Lance Armstrong.

Chapleau, director of the Iowa Marrow Donor Program, was one of 50 people selected to ride the last leg of the Tour of Hope, which raised awareness about cancer and cancer research.

Armstrong, who was successfully treated for testicular cancer seven years ago, led the ride, which finished on the front lawn of the White House.

While Chapleau credits her work in the cancer field with changing her life, meeting Armstrong and seeing his influence changed her again.

"I've been dedicated to helping people but seeing Lance told me I can do so much more," she said. "He's such an amazing man, and he realizes what the medical community needs to hear and see are these success stories. He is a true inspiration."

For more information

Call Colleen Chapleau, director of the Iowa Marrow Donor Program, at 1-800-944-8220 or 319-356-3337. Please mention having seen this article in PACEMAKER. Information is available online at www.iowamarrow.org and www.uihcabmt.org.

Reason to smile
In one of his happiest moments, Peter Kurt says 'thank you' to bone marrow donor Alexandra Ferandez Navarro, who traveled some 2,000 miles to meet Kurt at a special reunion.