Both Families Meet for the First Time

Schneider Children's Hospital (SCH) today welcomed two families who have had a profound impact on each others' lives - although until today, they had never met.

Three-year-old Marriette Prigal of Dix Hills, Long Island, gets a lift from Jody Robinson, a 35-year-old engineer from Virginia, who donated bone marrow that was used to save the little girl's life at Schneider Children's Hospital.

The two met for the first time on July 14 at the hospital. For the first time, the family of three-year-old Mariette Prigal of Dix Hills, Long Island, diagnosed at 18 months of age with a life-threatening illness, was able to acknowledge and thank Jody Robinson, a 35-year-old engineer from Virginia, whose generous donation of bone marrow saved the little girl's life.

In March 2004, Mariette was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, which means that the bone marrow fails to reproduce all blood cell lines in the body. Left untreated, this disease can be terminal. Since there were no family members with matching bone marrow, a national search was initiated through the National Marrow Donor Program. At about the same time, Mr. Robinson was watching a local news broadcast about a family launching a bone marrow drive in his town. Hoping to be helpful, Mr. Robinson decided to become a bone marrow donor. In February 2005, Mariette received the life-saving bone marrow transplant at Schneider Children's Hospital. But her journey was far from over. Five months later, Mariette suffered severe post-transplant complications in the form of a very rare disorder known as post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), which left a large hole in her intestine. For a patient whose immuno-suppressive system is already compromised, a hole in the intestine can be dangerous.

Following emergency surgery to repair the intestine and a three-week hospitalization, during which time Mariette's body had to 'grow' a new immune system, Mariette was well enough to return home. Finally, in December 2005, Mariette's parents received the news that every parent of a sick child dreams of - their daughter was completely disease free. Indira Sahdev, MD, section head of the Stem Cell Transplantation Unit at SCH, said she hopes other people will be inspired to donate bone marrow after hearing of Mariette's success.

"This patient was living with a life-threatening condition and the only curative treatment was bone marrow transplantation," she said. "Since there was so sibling donor available, a search through the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) was made to look for a volunteer bone marrow donor. We were lucky to find Mr. Robinson, who was kind enough to agree to donate his bone marrow to save the life of a stranger. We hope and urge the general population to become volunteer bone marrow donors so that other lives can be saved."

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Michelle Pinto
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