UCSF Bone Marrow Specialist Profiled

The efforts of Mort Cowan, MD, director of UCSF's Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program, were explored in an article by Rick Halstead in the Marin Independent Journal on Sunday, July 30. Cowan is credited with pioneering bone marrow transplants by harvesting healthy bone marrow stem cells from the patient's own blood - eliminating the need for a donor - and with leading the way in the use of bone marrow transplants for treatment of severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), a rare, inherited condition that leaves children with virtually no immune system. UCSF's Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program was started in 1982. During the past 24 years, more than 600 transplants have been performed at UCSF Children's Hospital. In 1982, UCSF performed the first partially matched bone marrow transplant on the West Coast, using bone marrow from a parent for a child with a severe immunodeficiency disease. Today, UCSF is a leader in special treatment options for children with primary immunodeficiency diseases, marrow failure syndromes, genetic diseases, cancers and other life-threatening illnesses. Links: "Passionate About His Patients: Doctor Renowned for Bone Marrow Transplants," Marin Independent Journal, July 30, 2006 Pediatric Reunion Draws Bone Marrow Transplant Survivors