Chemo corrects lawmaker's rare blood condition

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Having received transfusions of more than 40 pints of blood in recent weeks while undergoing treatment for a rare blood disorder, state Rep. Otto Bean says he feels like a new man.

"I don't have any of my own blood running in me anymore," Bean joked.

Appearing healthy, Bean returned to work in the Missouri House of Representatives on Tuesday after being absent for more than a month, most of which he spent at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Bean, R-Holcomb, represents parts of Dunklin, Butler and Stoddard counties.

For a time his condition defied diagnosis. His symptoms mimicked leukemia, but tests for that disease came back negative.

Doctors eventually determined he was suffering from a myeloproliferative blood disorder. In Bean's case, that meant his body was overproducing white blood cells, which devoured his red blood cells.

Bean, 67, underwent chemotherapy, which so far has seemed to correct the condition.

Shortly after his release from the hospital on March 18, Bean helped organize a series of blood drives in the Bootheel to help bolster supplies in the region.

The first drive was held Monday in Caruthersville. Two will be held in Kennett, next Monday at McCormick's Restaurant and April 9 at First United Methodist Church. Both upcoming drives will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Janet Bean, the lawmaker's wife, said the couple has a newfound appreciation for how vital it is for an adequate blood supply to be available.

"You don't realize how important it is until you need it," she said.

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