When answering questions from followers on social media about bone marrow donation, Fabiana Justus praised the Unified Health System (SUS). The influencer, diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, explained that even though she is undergoing treatment in a private hospital, “everyone has this right”.
A follower questioned whether the amount spent on transporting the marrow from the donor to the patient is paid by the person himself, but Fabi explained: “Every procedure, from collecting the marrow, transporting this marrow, until it reaches the recipient, is done by the SUS. So, regardless of whether I am in a private hospital, paying for the treatment or not, this transplant process, the transport of the bone marrow reaches you [é feito pelo SUS].”
“Even if it is a donation in Brazil, you are from São Paulo and your donor is from Bahia, this transport to get to you is SUS. Transport abroad is also the SUS that guarantees, that does, that organizes everything. Everyone has this right, it belongs to the SUS”, she highlighted.
She explained about her donor: “He donated it in his city and this bag, which is a medium-orange blood type, she came on this transport provided by the SUS. Wherever your donor is, your marrow will come to you. The donor does not need to travel, he does it in his city and everything is controlled.”
Marrow grip
Unlike transplants with solid organs, in the case of the influencer the organ is liquid, as explained by Mariana Chalup, hematologist at the Cancer Center Oncoclínicas. “It is blood that is present inside the bones, so it is not possible, as in the case of solid organs, to perform surgery to remove this tissue, which is liquid tissue”, she points out.
To “destroy the diseased bone marrow”, the patient undergoes high doses of chemotherapy. After, he receives the donated marrow through a catheter, as if it were a transfusion.
“These blood cells from the donor will then circulate for a period of time in the patient’s body until they are able to find the restricted location in the bone marrow where blood cells are produced. And they will mature and produce blood components again”, explains the doctor.
A hematologist clarifies that the marrow catch “It is a marker of the moment when it is perceived that the patient’s body is able to produce blood cells again”.
This finding occurs after a blood count test, which is carried out daily in transplant patients.
Diagnosis of Fabiana Justus
On January 25th of this year, Fabiana revealed have been diagnosed with leukemia acute myeloid and spoke about the discovery in a video posted on social media. According to the influencer, she was hospitalized with ‘a weird pain in her back and a fever’. From then on, she was hospitalized, underwent tests, had the catheter inserted and began chemotherapy.
On March 27th, Fabiana said she found a donor 100% compatible with her and that he would undergo the long-awaited bone marrow transplant. After 13 days, she reported that she managed to ‘get it’ and progressed in the treatment, being discharged from hospital on April 16.
