Due to complications relating to his stem cell transplant, NDP Leader Todd Hardy will be spending Christmas in the hospital.

'There's a bad side to it and a good side to it,' Hardy told the Star this morning from his hospital room at Vancouver General Hospital.

Hardy, 49, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia last August and received a stem cell transplant from his sister on Nov. 24.

Approximately 18 days after the transplant had been administered there were signs that the cells were beginning to graft with Hardy's bone marrow.

Hardy was originally scheduled to spend approximately six weeks in Vancouver General Hospital.

But his 12-person medical team was so pleased with his condition it had been suggested to the NDP leader last week he may be able to get out of the hospital Thursday or today, Hardy said.

However, the doctors have now discovered Hardy has developed graft-versus-host disease, which can occur following a stem cell transplant.

The disease can develop when two different types of stem cells are competing in the body, which already has a depleted immune system.

Varying degrees of graft-versus-host disease are viewed as an expected complication of a transplant, since tissue-typing can find close, but not perfect, tissue matches between donors and recipients. Complications related to the disease can range from mild to severe.

Hardy is experiencing rashes, nausea and headaches which are seen to be on the lower end of medical concerns for now.

The presence of the disease, however, is a clear indication the new stem cells are fighting the cancerous leukemia cells in his body, said Hardy.

Some research suggests a low level of graft-versus-host disease may be helpful in fighting the cancer.

The doctors are concerned about the emergence of the disease, said Hardy, and have decided it is best he remains in the hospital and continues to be monitored.

He is undergoing further treatment and testing in relation to the illness.

'These are not the kinds of things you want your body to have in this state,' said Hardy. 'It can be threatening to trying to recover from the transplant.'

The doctors want to ensure the disease does not get out of control or begin to include fevers or life-threatening complications, he said.

Hardy is still waiting for results from tests looking at whether the disease has had any impact on his stomach lining. He has been placed on steroids as a form of treatment.

Chronic symptoms of the graft-versus-host disease do not generally emerge until approximately three months after the transplant.

Hardy added his doctors have told him it is far better for the illness to emerge now rather than later.

'(The doctors) still feel that I'm doing quite well, but they are concerned about this.'

All timelines relating to his potential release have now been put on hold, he said.

It may still be early in the new year or it may be significantly later, depending on the severity of the disease and the medical team's ability to control it, he said.

'It's quite disappointing,' said Hardy, who is finding the days in his small room on the 15th floor of the hospital are going by more slowly. He is also having trouble sleeping now.

On the original timelines, Hardy had hoped to be able to return to the territory in late February.

Hardy first ran for political office successfully in the October 1996 election. He was narrowly defeated by then-Liberal Mike McLarnon in the 2000 vote when the Liberals swept to power, taking every seat in Whitehorse.

Hardy regained the Whitehorse Centre seat with an 82-vote margin in 2002 and held onto it in this year's Oct. 10 election, taking 47 per cent of the vote and 357 ballots.

Hardy's wife of 28 years, Louise, served as the Yukon's NDP Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2000. They have four grown children Janelle, Tytus, Tess and Lymond, and one grandchild, Ellazora.