Bone Marrow Recipient Anissa Ayala Doing Well

Four months and 10 days after undergoing a bone marrow transplant publicized around the world, 19-year-old Anissa Ayala of Walnut is doing well and has not experienced any major complications, her doctor reported Monday.

Anissa, who received marrow from her baby sister Marissa, is well past the 100-day “watershed” mark after which transplant patients can begin eating normal foods and exercising, said Dr. Stephen J. Forman, a transplant specialist at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte. He said it would be two years before Anissa can be considered fully recovered.

Marissa, 18 months, was conceived by Abe and Mary Ayala to be a donor for their older daughter, who in 1988 was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a malignant cancer. Nationwide searches for an unrelated donor had failed.