Hi doctor, I am a thalassemia major patient. My spleen size is 21. How to reduce my spleen size? And also I want to increase my weight? My age is 21. How much percentage risk is present in the unrelated donor stem cell transplant? My ferritin is 1500 and weight is 48 kg. Please suggest some solution.
Hi. At present there is no way to reduce the spleen size. Diet for thalassemia major patient should include plenty of fruits and vegetables and protein rich diet. Taking vitamin C supplements will help to increase the immunity of the body. Bone marrow transplantation is a curative treatment for thalassemia major (symptoms of severe anemia from childhood). Bone marrow transplantation can be done if you do not have any long-term complication of thalassemia major. Adult thalassemia patients are higher risk patients for transplant-related toxicity due to an advanced phase of disease and have a cure rate of 60 to 70% with current treatment protocol. There is 90% long-term survival rate in patients with favorable characteristics such as young age, HLA (human leukocyte antigen) match and no organ dysfunction. I would suggest you to consult a hematologist who can guide you better.