Bone Marrow Transplantation -All You Need to Know

Bone marrow transplant is a medical procedure for replacing diseased or damaged bone marrow with a healthy one. Your blood cells begin as young cells that are known as hematopoietic stem cells. Once these cells mature, they come out of bone marrow into the bloodstream. That’s why bone marrow transplant is also known as a stem cell transplant.

The damaged bone marrow makes only a few blood cells and hence, weakens your immune system. But a transplant treatment can help cure certain diseases or different types of cancer. However, you need to undergo a long recovery process under the risk of serious side effects.

What is Bone Marrow?

Bone marrow is a spongy, soft tissue within the bones, which makes blood stem cells or blood-forming cells. These cells further turn into blood cells, such as:

· Red blood cells carry oxygen to different body parts

· White blood cells to combat infections

· Blood platelets for controlling bleeding

· Blood-forming cells found in the umbilical cord blood and the bloodstream

How Does Bone Marrow Transplant Work?

Before undergoing a bone marrow transplant in India, you get chemotherapy without or with radiation therapy that kills diseases or damaged blood-forming marrow and cells. After that, healthy cells are injected into your bloodstream via an intravenous (IV) tube or line. This is similar to getting medicine or blood through an IV. The inserted cells naturally find their way into the marrow, where they begin to grow and make healthy white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

The three types of bone marrow therapy procedures are:

Autologous Transplant - This transplant uses the patient’s blood-forming cells.

Allogeneic Transplant - This procedure uses the donor’s blood-forming cells to form healthy cells.

Haploidentical Transplant - This procedure is a type of allogeneic transplant.

Why is a Bone Marrow Transplant Done?

The bone marrow includes hematopoietic stem cells, which further grow to form red blood cells, white blood cells and blood platelets. With the help of the bone marrow transplant, doctors can:

• Replace diseased marrow that’s unable to make new stem cells.
• Replace stem cells that were destroyed due to chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
• Insert new donor cells into the blood for finding and killing cancer cells.

· You need a bone marrow transplant if you have:

• Multiple myeloma
• Amyloidosis
• Sarcoma
• Germ cell tumours
• Myeloproliferative disorders
• Acute or chronic leukaemia
• Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia
• Aplastic anaemia
• Myelofibrosis
• Hodgkin’s or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Cancer treatments like radiation or chemotherapy
• Some autoimmune diseases like lupus

Bone Marrow Transplant Recovery

The process of recovery after the transplant is different for each patient. However, you have to spend many weeks in the hospital. Your immune system becomes weak, so the doctor will prescribe you medicines to prevent any infections. You even require blood transfusions.

For the initial weeks, doctors test the patient’s blood for checking engraftment. They even take a sample of bone marrow for this procedure.

After meeting certain criteria, including no fever for up to two days and certain blood cell counts, you may leave the hospital. You even need someone at home to take care of you. Your immune system may take more than a year to recover after a bone marrow transplant. Moreover, you need to see your doctor frequently and take medications for preventing any infections and host diseases.

· Your medical expert team may even suggest you see a dietician for creating a proper diet plan for keeping you healthy. Your dietician may instruct you to:

• Limit sodium
• Follow proper food safety guidelines
• Avoid alcohol
• Take multivitamins or supplements to get proper nutrition
• Avoid foods and beverages that may put your system at risk of foodborne illness
• Eat foods that provide necessary nutrients to your body

You must consult a doctor to diagnose and treat any condition that may require a bone marrow transplant. The specialists will offer you a proper treatment plan to ensure a quick recovery.