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Sibling donates marrow to two other brothers; donor: ‘It has a been a blessing for my family’

CHAPEL HILL -- Mike Bednar and his brother Martial share more than the family name. They share an immune system, thanks to Martial’s donation to Mike, who needed a transplant to treat his multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells.

When Martial’s marrow type proved a perfect match for Mike, it would be the second time for Martial and what is believed to be the first time in the United States that an adult donor had given marrow to two siblings.

The United Network for Organ Sharing, the University of California at Los Angeles Immunogenetics Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center revealed no other known instances of a donor giving marrow to two different siblings. The International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry was contacted, but does not track such data.

In May 1996, Martial first donated his marrow to his brother Merrick, a Roman Catholic priest who had a lengthy and complicated medical history. At age 32, he was diagnosed with pre-leukemia in 1996 after having been treated for lymphoma in 1993 as a result of immunosuppressive drugs taken following a successful heart transplant in 1986. (Father Merrick died in May 1997 awaiting a second heart.)

In summer 2003, Martial donated his marrow again to his eldest brother, Mike, who received it in November as part of a clinical trial sponsored by Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Protocol Office.

Mike Bednar, 49 – a longtime resident of nearby Pittsboro – was released from UNC Hospitals in late November and continues to be closely monitored by his medical team from the UNC Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Program. Martial, 37, lives and works in Rochester, N.Y. Born and raised in southwestern New York, the brothers are originally from a family of nine siblings. However, in both transplants, Martial was the best or only match.

"Having two brothers who have had to fight cancer and have needed a bone marrow transplant is a sad, harsh reality," said Martial Bednar. "But it has been a blessing for my family that I’ve been a match in both cases, and an awesome privilege for me to be my brothers’ donor. Not all who need a transplant are that fortunate."

Dr. Don Gabriel, professor of medicine in UNC’s School of Medicine and member of the Lineberger Center, is Mike Bednar’s physician. "When you’re facing a deadly disease as Mike Bednar is, hope is inexorably linked to an available donor. Mike is fortunate that his brother was a perfect match. But not everyone has a brother who is a perfect match.

"Being a donor takes time out of your life; it’s not something you have to do. Donors are heroes as well as the recipient and the families. Martial Bednar’s experience as a donor shows that it’s not dangerous. He’s done it twice!

"We hope that people will consider getting registered with the National Registry. They can save someone’s life. The more potential donors we have in the registry, the greater the chance that a match can be found for a patient."

The clinical trial in which Mike Bednar is a participant involves a two-step process for transplantation to treat multiple myeloma. The patient first undergoes an autologous- or self-transplant. Then two to four months after that, the patient undergoes an allogeneic- or donor-transplant. For this particular trial, the donor must be a sibling whose marrow matches that of the sibling who is the patient.

Many multiple myeloma patients who undergo only an autologous transplant relapse, so the trial is to determine if undergoing a second allogeneic transplant will eradicate any remaining cancer cells, thus increasing time without relapse. The Lineberger Center has had this trial open for more than a year and continues to enroll patients.

Said Mike Bednar, "This past year has been an incredible journey. I am thankful beyond words to begin a new year with a second chance at life."

The Lineberger Center’s mission is to reduce cancer occurrence and death in North Carolina and nationally through research, treatment, training and outreach. The center is one of the 38 National Cancer Institute designated comprehensive cancer centers.

Photo note: To download a photo of the Bednar brothers, visit http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/event/marrow_donor.jpg

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Lineberger Center contact: Dianne Shaw, (919) 966-7834 or dgs@med.unc.edu
UNC Hospitals contact: Stephanie Crayton-Robinson, (919) 966-2860 or SCrayton@unch.unc.edu
UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu