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Alan Kuo Still in Seattle, but out of
Hospital Alan Kuo has cleared yet another hurdle in the race for his life. The UCSF postdoc, who received a bone marrow transplant in December after a several month search for a donor match, is out of the hospital. His transplant was conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle and he is now living in a Hutchinson-affiliated apartment, where he's scheduled to stay for a couple of months. “As an out-patient, he still has to make frequent trips to the hospital for tests, platelet transfusions, and so on,” said Kuo’s friend Raymond Lin. Although Alan, who has leukemia, is out of the hospital, he is not completely in the clear. He has some infections and is experiencing some “unpleasant side effects of the drugs he's taking,” Lin said. “Alan does have Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) right now, but that is to be expected whenever there is a transplant of marrow which is not a perfect match (Alan's donor's marrow has mismatched B & C antigens with Alan's),” Lin said. “To keep GVHD under control, they're giving Alan a couple of drugs, a steroid and cyclosporin, which do cause some side effects: Alan is low on energy, and he frequently feels very hungry. However, the doctors say that his case of GVHD is not a bad one. Furthermore, GVHD can have a positive effect in that the new marrow also attacks the leukemia disease itself.” Kuo’s family and girlfriend, Ako, are living with him in Seattle and taking care of his health care needs. “In his new apartment, Alan and his family have to take on the task of handling Alan's IV/catheter, administering some infusions, monitoring the large number of drugs he's taking, and carefully preparing what food he eats,” Lin said. “Alan's parents, his sister, and his girlfriend Ako have been with him throughout, and ‘They've been great,’ Alan said.” “Things seem to be moving smoothly, and the plan is for him to move back to the Bay Area in March,” Lin said. Alan’s latest web entry. Links to previous Daybreak stories: 1st appeared 01/26/98 |
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