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[Narrator] Ieshea Thomas suffered her first sickle cell crisis when she was 8 months old.
Her disease became progressively worse as an adult, especially after the birth of her
daughter. Thomas has spent most of her adult life in and out of hospitals getting blood
transfusions and being treated for pain crises. She's suffered severe bone damage and she's
had two hip replacements. But Thomas' life is changing for the better. She's the first
patient in the Midwest to receive a successful stem cell transplant to cure her sickle cell
without the use of chemotherapy in preparation for the transplant.
[Damiano Rondelli] Bone marrow transplant has been done before in sickle cell patients
for many years with controversial success. The normal process of the bone marrow transplant
in the past was to give chemotherapy to the patient to prepare the bone marrow for infusing
the new stem cells to regenerate the blood. Unfortunately the chemotherapy has been very
toxic for these patients who are already sick.
[Narrator] University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System physicians suppressed her
immune system with medication and administered one small dose of radiation just before the transplant.
Neither chemotherapy nor radiation destroyed her bone marrow so there's less risk of infection.
So far about 25 adults have received similar transplants for sickle cell disease at the
National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. Only patients with a healthy sibling who's a compatible
donor can have the procedure. Thomas' sister was a match and she agreed to donate.
The sister was given medicine to increase the number of stem cells in her bloodstream, then her blood
was processed through a machine for collection.
With her daughter and parents at her bedside, Thomas anxiously awaited the transplant.
One by one the frozen bags of stem cells were carefully placed in a warming bath to thaw,
and then hung on an IV pole for the infusion. The procedure took about one hour.
[Damiano Rondelli] It was a very straightforward and smooth process and she was very happy.
[Narrator] It's been six months since the transplant and Ieshea Thomas is cured of her sickle cell disease.
She no longer requires blood transfusions. Sickle cell is a devastating disease both emotionally and physically
but UI Hospital physicians believe chemotherapy-free stem cell transplantation offers new hope.
This is Sherri McGinnis-Gonzalez reporting for UIC News.