Student wins first place in MNRS poster competition
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Nursing student Brooklyn Hastings won first place among bachelor’s degree students in the Midwest Nursing Research Society poster competition for her research on quality of life among adults with sickle cell disease who have received stem cell transplants.
There were 215 abstracts from BSN, MSN, DNP and PhD students in the competition.
Stem cell transplants are a way to replace diseased red blood cells with healthy donor cells. For her project, Hastings interviewed five sickle cell patients who received haploidentical stem cell transplants, which is a “newer and less researched” procedure for sickle cell patients who can’t find a fully matched stem cell transplant, she says.
Hastings says it’s important to consider the quality of life of these patients because of the potential for serious complications, including transplant failure.
“Despite complications and the intense nature of the transplant, each participant was very happy with their decision to have the transplant,” she says. “Being pain free, having more energy and no longer having to worry about sickle cell disease were some of the biggest benefits.”
Her advisor was associate professor Crystal Patil, PhD.