Bone Marrow Transplants: What to Expect
Bone Marrow Transplants: What to Expect
Bone marrow is a spongy material inside your bones where your body makes and stores blood cells. When it’s damaged, it makes too few blood cells and not enough cells for your immune system.
A transplant replaces damaged bone marrow with healthy marrow cells. It can cure certain diseases or some types of cancer. It also means a long recovery process and a risk of serious side effects. If you’re thinking about having one, talk with your doctor about all the pros and cons of the transplant.
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Your bone marrow holds your body’s blood stem cells. They grow to become:
Certain types of cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, can destroy your bone marrow. So can some cancer treatments, like high doses of chemotherapy or radiation.
A bone marrow transplant can help you if you have a severe form of aplastic anemia, a disease in which your body does not make enough red blood cells. It might also help with certain kinds of autoimmune diseases, in which your immune system attacks your body’s healthy tissues.
Your doctor will need to decide if a bone marrow transplant would work well for you. She’ll give you a physical exam and run tests to check your blood and how well your heart, lungs, liver, and other organs are working.
If a transplant seems like a good option, you’ll need a source of new blood stem cells that match yours. Doctors can get them from your body (called an autologous transplant), an identical twin or triplet (syngeneic transplant), or a donor (allogeneic transplant). Family members are usually good bone marrow matches, but doctors can also look for a donor in a national registry.
Donor registries match people who have the same type of protein on their white blood cells, called a human leukocyte antigen (HLA). Your HLA type is something that runs in your family. The chances of finding a match are better if two people are the same race or ethnicity.
Whether the blood stem cells for your transplant are coming from your body or a donor, doctors can take them in one of three ways:
A transplant replaces damaged bone marrow with healthy marrow cells. It can cure certain diseases or some types of cancer. It also means a long recovery process and a risk of serious side effects. If you’re thinking about having one, talk with your doctor about all the pros and cons of the transplant.
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Who Needs a Bone Marrow Transplant?
Your bone marrow holds your body’s blood stem cells. They grow to become:
- Red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body
- White blood cells, which help your immune system
- Platelets, which let your blood clot
Certain types of cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, can destroy your bone marrow. So can some cancer treatments, like high doses of chemotherapy or radiation.
A bone marrow transplant can help you if you have a severe form of aplastic anemia, a disease in which your body does not make enough red blood cells. It might also help with certain kinds of autoimmune diseases, in which your immune system attacks your body’s healthy tissues.
Before the Transplant
Your doctor will need to decide if a bone marrow transplant would work well for you. She’ll give you a physical exam and run tests to check your blood and how well your heart, lungs, liver, and other organs are working.
If a transplant seems like a good option, you’ll need a source of new blood stem cells that match yours. Doctors can get them from your body (called an autologous transplant), an identical twin or triplet (syngeneic transplant), or a donor (allogeneic transplant). Family members are usually good bone marrow matches, but doctors can also look for a donor in a national registry.
Donor registries match people who have the same type of protein on their white blood cells, called a human leukocyte antigen (HLA). Your HLA type is something that runs in your family. The chances of finding a match are better if two people are the same race or ethnicity.
Whether the blood stem cells for your transplant are coming from your body or a donor, doctors can take them in one of three ways:
- Directly from the bone marrow with a needle, usually placed in the hip bone or breastbone
- From your or your donor’s blood
- From the blood in the umbilical cord after a baby is born
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