Sisters celebrate a successful bone marrow donation 15 years later

Sisters Ketha Knuth and Karla Davidson try to see each other as often as they can.

The two not only share the bond of being sisters, but of the gift of bone marrow transplant from Knuth to Davidson.

In September 2004, Davidson knew something was wrong due to odd symptoms such as shortness of breath and swollen lymph nodes. However, multiple tests were coming back showing no prominent issue that would be causing her to feel sick.

“I just had a feeling that wasn’t right, I had been noticing symptoms for years and hadn’t gotten an answer,” she said.

After noticing enlarged lymph nodes again while getting an identification photo taken for a new job, Davidson went to a local hospital for testing. She was given a biopsy that revealed Stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“I then decided it was time to go where I trusted and see if I could get a definite diagnosis at University of Michigan Health and they confirmed the diagnosis. I was told by my care team to begin doing my bucket list,” said Davidson.

“So that is exactly what I did from 2005 to 2008.”

Davidson began traveling around Europe from the ice hotel in Sweden and the ski hills of Austria to watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower on New Year’s Eve.

She kayaked with the orca whales off the coast of Washington state and to the west coast of the United States and headed north to Alaska to see the grizzlies in Denali.

As she pursued her travels, her condition surprisingly seemed to not be progressing.

She was on the move until January of 2008 when a hip injury while skiing halted her “run from cancer”.

By the spring of 2008, Davidson had placed her travels on pause and was being treated with an intense chemotherapy to reduce the 25 pounds of tumor load in her body.

Despite the treatment, the outcome did not look positive, so her Michigan care team changed the plan to a single shot of Bexxar, a radioimmunotherapy infusion, which showed some improvements in her condition.

By 2009, Davidson was declared in remission until March 2010 when testing revealed her cancer had returned.

The team decided to treat Davidson with a milder chemotherapy while beginning the process of identifying a potential bone marrow donor.

Bonded through bone marrow donation

“For patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the infusion of bone marrow allows blood counts to recover quickly following the receipt of intensive chemotherapy,” said Gregory Yanik, M.D., a Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Director of Bone Marrow at University of Michigan Health.

“When is comes to a treatment like this, about 25% of the donor’s marrow is needed for a more effective treatment. The marrow taken from the donor will regenerate in about three to four weeks.”

When Knuth learned that her sister needed a bone marrow transplant, she immediately agreed to be tested to see if she was a match.

“We have multiple sisters and all of us got tested,” said Knuth.

“All of us wanted to do whatever we could to help ensure Karla was able to get the treatment she needed.”

On May 19, 2010, Knuth received the call that she was a match for her sister.

SEE ALSO: Two Big Ten schools connected by one bone marrow donation 

Elated at the news, she requested that she be the one to call Davidson and tell her.

"At the time, Karla was in the car with our mom, and her first reaction was ‘I’m going to live!’,” said Knuth.

“Throughout her treatment journey, she didn’t talk much about her medical care, so hearing her realization and hope-filled reaction meant the world to me.”

According to Yanik, siblings have only a 25% chance of being a bone marrow match with their respective siblings.

“I joked that maybe her donation would give me some of her traits,” said Davidson.

“Maybe it would make me a bit tidier.”

Before the transplant, Davidson was hospitalized to receive an intense chemotherapy to kill any negative cells and make way for Knuth’s bone marrow cells so that they were at their most effective.

Then on August 17, 2010, Knuth made her way to U-M Health to complete her bone marrow donation to Davidson.

Knuth had listened carefully to her care team to make sure that she was in the best health she could be for Davidson and took shots to boost her bone marrow production before the extraction.

For her, the process consisted of placing an IV in each arm and drawing out the marrow from the blood by machine before placing it back in her body.

“I had the option to watch TV, but all I could do was sit there and pray,” said Knuth.

The procedure lasted 4 ½ hours, after which Knuth went to Davidson’s room that afternoon and witnessed her sister being infused with her bone marrow. 

After 11 days of immunosuppression, Davidson’s body showed the initial signs of Knuth’s bone marrow functioning in her body and the rejoicing began.

After her transplant, Davidson stayed with her family in an apartment in Ann Arbor for the next three months, in case she had any adverse effects from the treatment.

Eventually, Davidson was able to return home with her new cells and a new immune system.

Since her transplant, Davidson has done well. Despite suffering heart failure from her chemotherapy a few years after treatment, she is choosing to live her life with joy every day.

“You can choose to fight or give up in those tough situations, and I will always choose to fight.”

“My bone marrow transplant and the other care I have received has given me another fifteen years of life with my family and friends. Why should I not live it to the fullest?"

Living life to the fullest

Today, Davidson spends time with her daughter and family members and loves to spend time with her service dog, Charlie.

Davidson adopted Charlie in 2008 as she was going through intense treatments, and he has been her rock ever since.

“He lifts my spirits,” she said.

“When the fear crept in, he helped me feel like I wasn’t alone.”

She also cleans graves that have been forgotten about, bringing the stories of those who have passed back to the light.

For Knuth, being able to spend precious time with her sister has been more than worth her donation.

“If I was asked to donate my bone marrow again, I would do it without hesitation,” she said.

“It is a temporary pain to help someone who is in need of life saving care.”

When people ask her about her experience, Knuth encourages others to sign up and see if they can be someone’s match.

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