Bone Marrow Transplant Donor and Recipient to Meet at Survivor Picnic

MAYWOOD, IL – On Sunday, September 8, a 27-year-old Loyola Medicine patient will meet for the first time the Arizona man who donated bone marrow on three separate occasions to help save her life.

At age 23, Jenny Carillo was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes, a condition more commonly seen in older patients. Due to the high risk presented by her condition, her doctors recommended an allogeneic stem cell transplant as her best chance for long-term survival. This bone marrow transplant was necessary to replace bone marrow cells damaged by high-dose chemotherapy. The transplanted cells would help Carillo's bone marrow function normally again.

Carillo's two brothers were tested and were not a match, meaning she would need to rely on a bone marrow donation from a stranger. "The preferred type of bone marrow donation is from a sibling match, but only 20-30% of the population have a matched sibling," said Stephanie Tsai, MD, Loyola's Unit Medical Director of Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant. "An unrelated donor is the most common."

Unfortunately, finding a match outside their family can be a challenge for Hispanic Americans like Carillo. When identifying a match, doctors look for a donor whose cell surface proteins match that of the patient's. More specifically, their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) type. A patient’s ethnic background is important in predicting the likelihood of finding a match. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, only 13% of registry members identify as Hispanic or Latino.

David Farias has been donating blood for more than 20 years and decided to join the bone marrow registry to be a match for someone in need. Farias is also Hispanic and had been on the registry for years before receiving a call that he was a match. He was very emotional when he found out the patient was a girl in her 20s, roughly the same age as Farias' eldest daughter.

"I joined the registry because I wanted to help someone, said Farias. "I may not be able to cure cancer, but I can help keep someone alive."

Carillo received her first transplant from Farias on February 4, 2020, while in remission. Eight months later, Carillo relapsed. She underwent chemotherapy to eliminate any unhealthy cells before receiving a second donation and transplant in January 2021. Due to the high-risk nature of her condition, Carillo receives bone marrow biopsies which can detect increasingly small amounts of cancer cells. On July 25, doctors detected very small amounts of her disease present.

This required a third donation from Farias who was eager to help again. Carillo completed five days of outpatient chemotherapy paired with donor lymphocyte infusions from Farias to boost her immune system. Carillo completed five days of outpatient chemotherapy, followed by donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) from Farias to boost her immune system.

"It's been amazing to know that I've helped someone, said Farias. "I'm hoping this third round is the one that helps get her over the edge so she can be healthy."

"He has already saved my life twice and is now saving me a third time," said Carillo. "Because of him, I have been able to spend time with my family, get my bachelor's degree, and live my life. He has given me a new perspective on life and allowed me to live again and I am so thankful for that."

Loyola operates one of the highest volume and most experienced bone marrow and stem cell transplant programs in Illinois. Loyola receives referrals from throughout the Midwest and offers a full spectrum of transplant options provided by an experienced, interdisciplinary transplant team. As an academic medical center, Loyola offers patients access to clinical trials of promising new treatments not available at most centers.