Bone Marrow & Stem Cell Transplants
There are 5 stages in the transplant process:
- Physical Examination – to asses whether the patient is fit for a transplant
- Harvesting of cells – getting the cells from the patient or a donor that will be used for the transplant.
- Conditioning – getting the patients body ready for transplant
- The transplant
- Recovery period
There are two types of transplants:
- Autologus transplant – where your own cells are used
- Allogenic transplant – where a donors cells are used
If you are having an autologus transplant your stem cells will need to be treated with high doses of radiation or chemotherapy to ensure there are no cancerous cells left.
Autologus bone marrow transplants, are done by using a needle to remove bone marrow from the hip bone under general anaesthetic. It may be necessary to do this multiple times before there is enough bone marrow to be harvested.
Allogenic transplants are carried out when the patient is unable to provide suitable cells themselves. Stem Cells are obtained as an outpatient, the donor will be linked to a cell separator machine. The donor’s blood will go through the machine which will separate stem cells from other cells in blood. These cells can then be harvested.
Allogenic bone marrow transplants are carried out in the exact same way as the autologus transplants, via a needle in the hip bone. A healthy donor should expect a minimum 5 day recovery period following the procedure.
Patients receiving transplants may need to stay in hospital for up to 3 months providing there are no complications.
