Experience of Late Engraftment following SCT

Just wondered if anyone can offer any experience of late engraftment following a stem cell transplant. A family member is on day +25 today and still no signs of engraftment. We are getting really worried as a family that the transplant has failed despite the doctors saying engraftment can still take place at this late stage

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Hi there
Added some info from Anthony Nolan

COPIED
"Engraftment normally takes around two to three weeks, but it can sometimes take longer. The first sign of engraftment is often an increase in your white blood cell count. Your medical team will test your blood regularly so they know when engraftment has started and that your white blood cell count is steadily increasing.

During this time, you might need blood and platelet transfusions a few times a week. This is to help ‘top up’ your red blood cells, which may also be low. It’s a normal part of recovery and doesn’t mean that your transplant isn’t working. However, if you do have concerns, you should talk to your medical team about it."

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Have also added this as it may help you form questions to ask

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Hi @Sunshine24 welcome to our forum, I am not medically trained, but I would say be guided by your family members medical team.
There is guidance, but we are all very unique individuals.
You are obviously so caring so please do look after yourself as well as you care about your family member. Please do let us know how you all get on.

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Hi @Sunshine24.
It must be a worrying time for you all
What have the medical team said? Every ones journey is different and @Erica said, they are the best people to advise. Please keep us updated on how things are going :blush:

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Thank you for your messages. They are saying that there is still a chance the cells will engraft themselves without intervention (apparently they have had a case where they didnt kick in until day +40) that being said they said usually they would have started to see signs of engraftment by now. Its very hard being told every day that the results are showing at 0 still. I just wondered if anyone has experience of this or graft failure. Despite being well informed by the medical team it would be nice to hear from other experiences of this.

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I hope others will be able to share their experiences :blush:

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