Lymphocyte Immune Therapy (LIT)

After my 3rd loss I did some research and read the book Coming to Term. In the book it talked about doing Lymphocyte Immune Therapy. (LIT) This is where they take my husband's white blood cells and put them into me so that my body doesn't see my husband's DNA as foreign and try to fight off the pregnancy. Dr. Beer used this procedure in the US for some time but thanks to President Bush it is no longer not legal anymore and we would have to go to Mexico or Canada. The other option is IVIG which is very expensive. (With Obama in office I believe this procedure will now be legal in the US very soon although I haven't really done the research on that so please don't hold me to it)

So here is the scientific explanation of LIT according to Dr. Beer's website:

Explanation of LIT:

The HLA antigens on the placenta cells made by the father are called HLA-G. When the couple shares DQ alpha antigens in common, the G molecule put on the placental cells by the father is too similar to the G molecule that the woman's father put on her placenta to sustain her in her mother's uterus.
As a result, she does not make the blocking antibody, the baby dies, and her immune system recognizes the placenta as "altered self" (i.e., a cancer cell) and category 1 problems move on to worsen to categories 2, 3, 4 and 5 (see diagram below).
Consequences
Inadequate blocking antibody formation.
Ineffective camouflage of placenta.
Placental cells fail to grow and divide.
Death of placental cells.
Activation of category 2, 3, 4 and 5 immune problems.

HLA-G: Message sent from father to stimulate blocking antibody.
Blocking Antibody: Protects and stimulates the growth of placental cells.
Placental Cell Death: Consequences of low blocking antibody.

Info taken from Repro-Med (Dr. Alan Beer's website)

http://repro-med.net/about/biobeer.php

So we talked to some people locally that had done LIT down in Mexico and decided to give it a try. Jan 26th 2008 we took our first trip down to the border to meet with the Dr. There we met 2 other couples who were in somewhat the same situation as us. One couple had been trying to get pregnant for a while and had done IVF cycles but miscarried a couple of times. The other couple had a daughter but had 2 miscarriages in a row and decided to try LIT as well. We all walked over the border together and our husbands when in one at a time and had their blood drawn. Then we went out to breakfast while the Dr. and the nurses separated our husband's white blood cells from the red ones. When we returned they did 4 shallow injections into our fore arms just under the skin. We were told to go home and not take any allergy meds for about 3 days and to come back for our second treatment in 3-4 weeks.

I know I know. It sounds crazy. Going to Mexico to have this done. But the Dr. that did this procedure worked and studied with Dr. Beer in the US and has helped tons of couples finally have their baby. Many couples in the Phoenix area have gone down and done this procedure with this very same Dr. and had great success. The office was just like any other office in the US. Very nice and clean. They used brand new needles that were packaged and alcohol swaps. They even required that you bring your paperwork stating that you and your husband have had blood tests done and are free from disease.

My arms were red for a couple of days but after that I felt fine. We went back again 4 weeks later and repeated the treatment again. I kept in touch with the ladies I met down there for a while but have lost touch over the months. I often wonder if LIT actually worked and they had their babies or are pregnant now.

It was great talking to them when we were down there and sharing our stories. I had been on babycenter discussion boards but to talk to someone in person that felt my same feelings of desperation and desire to have a child made such a big difference.

So after the LIT was done we were given the green light to try again in March of 2008.