Category Archives: Blood Cancer

Blood Cancer

All about Blood Cancer Bone Marrow Transplant

Bone Marrow transplant is a specific therapy for patients with cancer or other related diseases. A bone marrow transplant involves a procedure of taking cells found in the bone marrow or stem cells, treating or filtering them, and then giving them back to the patient. The goal of this therapy is to transfer healthy bone marrow cells or stem cells to a person who has unhealthy bone marrow cells. Bone marrow transplant is a popular procedure that is used to treat blood cancer diseases like leukemia, aplastic anemia, lymphomas, immune deficiency disorders, and several tumor cancer. Blood cancer bone marrow transplant is conducted on patients who are suffering from cancer.

What is Bone Marrow?

The soft and spongy tissue that is found inside your bones is known as Bone marrow. It is the place where blood cells of your body develop & stored. On the other hand stem, cells are cells that are capable of making copies of themselves and can change into other cells as per the requirements of the body.

When does one need a blood cancer bone marrow transplant?

Well, the goal of a bone marrow transplant is to provide new healthy cells into the body to treat several diseases. The doses of chemotherapy or other radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells is so high that it often ends up destroying a person’s healthy bone marrow cells. In such a case a bone marrow transplant is required to rejuvenate those cells. A bone marrow transplant is mainly done to:

  • Substitute non-functional bone marrow with healthy cells for conditions like aplastic anemia, leukemia, sickle cell anemia etc.
  • Replace original bone marrow, and treat them to restore its original function post-chemotherapy or radiation therapy. This process is termed rescue therapy.
  • Regenerate a new immunity system to fight residual or existing leukemia & other types of cancer that cannot be killed by radiation therapy or chemotherapy.

Different types of a bone marrow transplant

Bone marrow transplants are of different types depending on the donor.

  • Autologous transplant- Here the patient is the donor who is suffering from blood cancer. Stem cells are extracted from the patient through apheresis or bone marrow harvest. This is a procedure of collecting peripheral blood cells in frozen form. After an extensive treatment on them, these are given back to the patient.
  • Allogenic transplant- Here the donor is another person who has the same genetic type as the patient suffering from blood cancer. Stem cell transplant matches are harvested from a genetically matched donor and implanted into the patient.
  • Umbilical cord blood transplant- In this procedure, stem cells are extracted from the umbilical just after the delivery. Next, the stem cells automatically mature and reproduce into functioning blood cells. Such stem cells are tested and frozen and kept secured until required for transplant.

How to donate bone marrow is one of the best innovations of medical science that can treat patients suffering from severe diseases. Well there are both risks and benefits associated with blood cancer bone marrow transplant and one must always consult a health care provider or a specialist whether to consider this procedure or not

 

Blood Cancer

Bone Marrow Transplant To Beat Leukemia

There are thousands of people who are being diagnosed with leukemia every day and the only way to save them is by undergoing a leukemia marrow transplant. What is bone marrow? This is a soft tissue that is present within the bones. These have stem cells that are responsible for producing blood. When a person gets leukemia the production of blood drops within the body and causes health issues. Do you want to know more about bone marrow transplants? Here have a read.

How Does This Procedure Work

A sign of bone marrow malfunction is when the body cannot make healthy cells for blood and that is when a person is suspected of having leukemia. Failure of the bone marrow can lead to conditions such as too much bleeding, fatal health conditions, and fatigue.

In such a condition a doctor may recommend the patient to undergo a transplant of the bone marrow to address leukemia. The procedure involves the extraction of good cells from the bone marrow and then the patient is put through chemotherapy or radiation and then the healthy cells are introduced back into the body.

What Are The Different Types Of Transplants?

The whole purpose of a leukemia bone marrow transplant is to make sure that the condition goes into remission completely. Here are two kinds of transplants performed by doctors.

Allogeneic Transplant:  In this procedure, the cells are extracted from a donor who is a perfect match for the recipient.

Autologous Transplant: Here the stem cells are extracted from the patient’s body and then re-administered after the chemotherapy and radiation have been completed.

Things To Remember About The Procedure

This transplant procedure is not a surgical process, but it is complicated and has several stages. Here are some of the stages discussed below.

Testing Before Transplant

Before you go in for the transplant an oncologist will examine you and diagnose the extent of your leukemia. Your organs such as liver, lungs, and heart will be tested.

The Conditioning Stage

In this phase, the doctor preps you for the process. Here you will be put through a series of chemotherapy to eliminate leukemia cells from within the body. This is known as the conditioning phase. The patient usually has to go in for multiple chemotherapy sessions.

Infusion

Once your chemotherapy has stopped then the healthy cells are administered into the body. It is not painful.

The Recovery Stage

In this period the patients have to take medications and also turn up for several tests to check if leukemia has gone into remission. However, the patient will have to follow a strict lifestyle and diet as suggested by the doctor. The recovery process will take time for some it may take even years and so you have to be very patient.

Wrapping Up

So, this is all you need to know about the transplant procedure for acute myeloid leukemia bone marrow transplant. The best way to beat this disease is to get yourself tested and treated early. This will help your body heal faster and so you will be able to beat the disease.

Contact Us:

Gift of Life Marrow Registry

Address: 800 Yamato Rd suite 101 Boca Raton, FL 33487
Phone: (800) 962-7769