PREGNANCY AFTER BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

Purpose: To evaluate the occurrence of pregnancy after bone marrow tra nsplantation (BMT). Design: Medline literature review of reported preg nancies in the BMT population published in the English language. Resul ts: Multiple case reports and a few series studies showed more than 25 0 offspring from BMT recipients. Conclusion: BMT patients receive high -dose chemotherapy and often radiation, as well. These agents are asso ciated with gonadal dysfunction and the fertility of patients after BM T is of concern because BMT patients are often young people who wish t o resume a normal quality of life, which for many patients involves th e desire to have children. Our experience with the successful pregnanc y of one of our BMT patients led to the investigation of reported case s that showed numerous other births. The issue of counseling BMT patie nts about fertility, pregnancy complications, and potential birth defe cts is becoming increasingly complex and warrants further investigatio n.