Yale's Mandi Schwartz Receives Stem-Cell Transplant

Yale hockey player Mandi Schwartz, who has been battling leukemia, underwent a stem cell transplant Wednesday at the inpatient transplant unit of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance at the University of Washington Medical Center.

The procedure on the Saskatchewan native took 32 minutes and there were no complications, said Dean Forbes, a spokesman for the cancer center, the Yale Daily News reported.

"This is the day we've been waiting for. Today is a happy day," father Rick Schwartz told the Leader Post (Regina, Saskatchewan) before the transplant, which was scheduled almost five months to the day Mandi's cancer relapsed.

"We are optimistic everything is going to work out, but they did tell us that it might not so that's going to be the tough part. It's a matter of waiting to see how things will go along the way. Hopefully she stays healthy and strong."

More on Mandi Schwartz

• Mandi's Race Against Time
• Clock Keeps Ticking on Mandi
• Mandi Gets New Lease on Life
• Mandi Schwartz in Remission
Mandi Schwartz, a Saskatchewan native, has been in and out of chemotherapy for more than 20 months since first being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December 2008. On Aug. 31, Schwartz entered remission once again after completing additional chemotherapy. She underwent a daily pair of hour-long radiation sessions between Sept. 15 and 17, and had another two days of chemotherapy on Sunday and Monday to prepare for the transplant.

Now, Schwartz will wait to see if the stem cells engraft. Forbes said it will take about three weeks to determine whether the transplant was successful. Schwartz will remain in the hospital during that stretch of time because her immune system is still weak.

"While the engraftment is taking place, she basically has no immune system because her old marrow has been destroyed by radiation and therapy in preparation for the transplant," Forbes told the Yale Daily News Wednesday night.