Where is bone marrow transplant done

Most cells are already differentiated and can only make copies of themselves. However, these stem cells are unspecialized, meaning they have the potential to multiply through cell division and either remain stem cells or differentiate and mature into many different kinds of blood cells.

The HSC found in the bone marrow will make new blood cells throughout your lifespan. A bone marrow transplant replaces your damaged stem cells with healthy cells. This helps your body make enough white blood cells, platelets, or red blood cells to avoid infections, bleeding disorders, or anemia. Healthy stem cells can come from a donor, or they can come from your own body.

In such cases, stem cells can be harvested, or grown, before you start chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Those healthy cells are then stored and used in transplantation. This could be due to chronic infections, disease, or cancer treatments.

Some reasons for a bone marrow transplant include:. A bone marrow transplant is considered a major medical procedure and increases your risk of experiencing:. The above symptoms are typically short-lived, but a bone marrow transplant can cause complications.

Your chances of developing these complications depend on several factors, including:. Talk to your doctor about any concerns you may have. They can help you weigh the risks and complications against the potential benefits of this procedure. There are two major types of bone marrow transplants. The type used will depend on the reason you need a transplant. They typically involve harvesting your cells before beginning a damaging therapy to cells like chemotherapy or radiation.

After the treatment is done, your own cells are returned to your body. It can only be used if you have a healthy bone marrow.

However, it reduces the risk of some serious complications, including GVHD. Allogeneic transplants involve the use of cells from a donor. The donor must be a close genetic match. Often, a compatible relative is the best choice, but genetic matches can also be found from a donor registry. Allogeneic transplants are necessary if you have a condition that has damaged your bone marrow cells. However, they have a higher risk of certain complications, such as GVHD.

Im A, Pavletic SZ. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Editorial team. Bone marrow transplant. This may be done in two ways: Ablative myeloablative treatment -- High-dose chemotherapy, radiation, or both are given to kill any cancer cells.

This also kills all healthy bone marrow that remains, and allows new stem cells to grow in the bone marrow. Reduced intensity treatment, also called a mini transplant -- Lower doses of chemotherapy and radiation are given before a transplant. This allows older people, and those with other health problems to have a transplant. There are three kinds of bone marrow transplants: Autologous bone marrow transplant -- The term auto means self.

Stem cells are removed from you before you receive high-dose chemotherapy or radiation treatment. The stem cells are stored in a freezer. After high-dose chemotherapy or radiation treatments, your stems cells are put back in your body to make normal blood cells. This is called a rescue transplant. Allogeneic bone marrow transplant -- The term allo means other. Stem cells are removed from another person, called a donor. Most times, the donor's genes must at least partly match your genes.

Special tests are done to see if a donor is a good match for you. A brother or sister is most likely to be a good match. Sometimes parents, children, and other relatives are good matches. Donors who are not related to you, yet still match, may be found through national bone marrow registries. Umbilical cord blood transplant -- This is a type of allogeneic transplant.

Stem cells are removed from a newborn baby's umbilical cord right after birth. The stem cells are frozen and stored until they are needed for a transplant. Umbilical cord blood cells are very immature so there is less of a need for perfect matching.

Due to the smaller number of stem cells, blood counts take much longer to recover. Donor stem cells can be collected in two ways: Bone marrow harvest -- This minor surgery is done under general anesthesia. This means the donor will be asleep and pain-free during the procedure. The bone marrow is removed from the back of both hip bones. The amount of marrow removed depends on the weight of the person who is receiving it. Be The Match has a team dedicated to providing information and support to you before, during and after transplant.

You can contact our Patient Support Center to ask questions you may have about transplant, request professional or peer support, or receive patient education materials. Call or email us for confidential, one-on-one support from caring experts. All of our programs and resources are free. Patients and Families About Transplant What is a bone marrow transplant?

Email this page Print this page My Cart. Autologous Transplant Allogeneic transplant Haploidentical transplant. How does a blood or marrow transplant BMT work? Where do the healthy cells come from? Healthy blood-forming cells used in transplant can come from 3 sources: Bone marrow: Spongy tissue inside of bones Peripheral blood stem cells PBSC : Blood-forming cells from the circulating blood Cord blood: The blood collected from the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby is born What are the different types of BMT?

There are 2 main types of transplant: An autologous transplant uses your own blood-forming cells.