150,000 transplants. One new beginning.
150,000 transplants. One new beginning.
A milestone moment in motion
For nearly 50 years, Mary devoted her career to caring for others.
As a nurse and later a nursing professor, she spent decades helping patients navigate some of life's most difficult moments while preparing the next generation of health care professionals to do the same.
Now, at 69, Mary finds herself on the other side of care.
This summer, Mary received a blood stem cell transplant at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, becoming the 150,000th transplant facilitated through NMDPSM. While the milestone represents decades of progress for patients with blood cancers and disorders, for Mary, it marks something more personal: the beginning of her recovery journey.
"It still doesn't seem real," Mary said.
When everything changed
Her path to transplant began after routine blood work revealed she had chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Initially, her care team reassured her that the disease wasn’t an immediate concern. But within months, everything changed.
Mary began experiencing pain near her spleen, shortness of breath and a growing sense that something wasn’t right. Follow-up testing confirmed that her CLL had transformed into acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive blood cancer that required immediate treatment.
She began intensive chemotherapy right away.
“The chemo was rough. It was really rough,” Mary said. “I was in the hospital for a month. I got a staph infection. I couldn’t eat. I just felt lousy the whole time.”
A difficult decision
Despite months of treatment, Mary’s leukemia wasn’t responding as hoped. Her doctors began discussing another option: a blood stem cell transplant.
The recommendation caught her by surprise.
When she was first diagnosed with AML, transplant hadn’t been presented as a likely path forward. Like many older patients, Mary had largely ruled it out. But as her disease progressed, she, her husband and her daughter—an oncology pharmacist—carefully weighed the decision together.
Eventually, Mary decided to move forward.
Finding a path ahead
Within weeks, she met with the transplant team at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The experience eased many of her fears and helped her feel confident she was making the right choice.
“The team was wonderful,” Mary said. “I trust that they have my best interests in mind.”
The search for a donor moved quickly. Within a couple of months, a fully matched unrelated donor was identified through the NMDP RegistrySM.
The beginning of what's next
For Mary, the transplant represents more than a milestone. It represents a chance for more time with her family, including her husband and daughter, who plan to spend two months helping care for her during recovery.
As she looks ahead, Mary knows the journey is far from over. Recovery after transplant takes time, patience and support. There will be challenges still to come. But after decades spent helping others heal, she now has the opportunity to focus on her own recovery.
Mary’s transplant is the 150,000th facilitated through NMDP, a milestone made possible by selfless donors, continued research and advances in transplant care that are helping more patients access potentially life-saving treatment.
For patients like Mary, every transplant represents something powerful: not an ending, but the possibility of what comes next.