There are two ways that babies and children arrive at the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit:
- where a defect in the immune system has been newly diagnosed and the child is treated as an emergency. In some cases, the news of their child’s illness and its severity hits parents like a bolt and typically, parents arrive with their child as an emergency, by ambulance, with nothing more than the clothes they are wearing.
- where the condition does not present imminent danger but preparations for a bone marrow transplant need to be made. In these cases, a member of the Unit’s Liaison Team visits the family in their home to provide as much information as possible about what the experience will involve. If there is time, parents will be invited to visit the Unit, so they can familiarise themselves with the environment and procedures.
