Pneumonia Vaccine in Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients: Usefulness of Donor Vaccination

Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as Pneumococcus, is a common cause of pneumonia in transplant patients. There has been a vaccine available for this infection called Pneumovax. Recently, a new vaccine for this infection called Prevnar has been developed which may be more effective. Vaccinating the bone marrow donor before transplant may boost the recipient\'s immune response to the vaccine after transplant. This study is done to compare how vaccinating the donor with one of the vaccines will affect the recipient\'s immune system response to the vaccine.