Answer
Mononucleosis, Epstein Barr disease (kissing disease) is not usually a live threatening illness. However, some people infected with this EBV virus go onto develop a cancerous condition. Tis s the case with Jenny. People who are at high risk for and go on to develop cancer of Epstein Barr virus(CEBV) are usually people with X-linked lymphoproliferative diseases.
Stem cell transplants for a CEBV patient usually come s from a matched allogenic donor --after radiation treatment of the donor. Jenny's brother is a good donor apparently for the following reasons
He is blood type match
He is a male, therefore, this reduces his chances of having the gene for an X-linked lympho-proliferative disease-- which his sister Jenny probably has. Umbilical cord blood is used because the mother's and the fetus' blood stream do not mix. Therefore the mother's blood cells which may have EBV antigens on their membranes could not have entered the umbilical cord blood.
Work Step by Step
People with perforins synthesis defects are also among those at risk for development of EBC cancers. But perforin defect is an autosomal disease, and a male fetus has the same chance as a female one of inheriting it.
