One of Andy’s worst enemies before receiving Sofia’s stem cells was cytomegalovirus. A virus from the herpesvirus group that remains dormant within the body. CMV reactivates if the immune system is weak or dysfunctional.
I found a news release from researchers at the City of Hope Cancer Center that are giving a “booster shot” to the donor before transplant. They are using an “altered form of poxvirus that can coax the body into making large amounts of certain CMV proteins”. They say that this activates the donor’s immune system prior to transplant. And they hope that this immunity is passed to the recipient.
Read the article here.