A 14-year-old New Jersey girl suffering from leukemia had a bone marrow transplant Saturday using marrow flown to this country from England.
Molly Scharkey of Cherry Hill, N.J., received the transplant about 2 a.m. at the Milwaukee County Medical Complex. Nursing supervisor Meg Shannon-Stone said Saturday she was in satisfactory condition."For 10 to 14 days is the period when you watch to see if the transplant takes or if she will have a reaction or reject it," said Shannon-Stone.
The bone marrow was drawn early Friday from an English woman in London's Royal Hammersmith Hospital and flown to Milwaukee.
Physicians prefer to use bone marrow from close relatives because it reduces the chance of rejection. But when a related donor cannot be found doctors look for other closely matched people.
A hospital spokeswoman said the marrow from England was a "perfect match."
The bone marrow was intravenously dripped into Scharkey's blood, and doctors said it would find its way into her bone cavities, where it is hoped it will take root and grow healthy white blood cells, which fight infection and disease.
Scharkey had a final dose of radiation late Friday to kill remaining cancerous cells in her bone marrow. She suffers from chronic leukemia and needed the donated marrow to replace the cancerous marrow.