The entire transplant process takes around one to two hours. To receive your new bone marrow cells, healthy cells from your donor will be collected through an IV (intravenous) catheter (again, similar to donating blood) and transfused into you through a central line. This is a painless procedure.
A bone marrow transplant does not involve major surgery; rather, it's performed similarly to a blood transfusion. In a bone marrow transplant, bone marrow cells are collected from a donor's bloodstream through a needle inserted into a bone, typically a pelvic bone.
Engraftment and going home after bone marrow transplant
Every patient's situation is unique, but you can expect to spend 30 to 60 days in the hospital or at the outpatient clinic for your transplant. The goal of BMT is for the donated cells to enter your bone marrow and start making new cells.
Many people are well enough to leave hospital between 1 and 3 months after the transplant. However, if you develop complications such as an infection, you may have to stay in hospital for longer.
Collecting cells for an autologous bone marrow transplant
Your doctor might use a long needle to take stem cells from the marrow in your hip bone. It's done in an operating room under general anesthesia, which means you're asleep and don't feel anything. The procedure takes 1 or 2 hours.
You may be able to exercise as normal or stick with gentle activity such as light walking or cycling, and there are times when it's safest to avoid exercise. Your team will also be on the look-out for signs of infection, such as a fever.
It can take a few weeks before donors completely recover from donating bone marrow. During your recovery, you may have the following side effects: Your lower back and the back of your hips may ache or feel sore for a few days after the procedure. You may have bruises.
You have the highest risk of infections in the first few weeks after transplant, but you will still be at a higher risk of infections for a year or more after. Your health care team will talk to you about ways to reduce your risk of infections during your recovery.
Some 62% of BMT patients survived at least 365 days, and of those surviving 365 days, 89% survived at least another 365 days. Of the patients who survived 6 years post-BMT, 98.5% survived at least another year.
A bone marrow transplant has serious risks. Some patients suffer from life-threatening problems as a result of their transplant. These problems can include serious infections and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) , in which the transplanted cells attack the patient's body.
One factor is the age of the donor. Medical research has shown that cells from younger donors lead to better long-term survival for patients after transplant. Doctors request donors in the 18-35 age group 75% of the time. We are committed to providing the best possible outcome for patients.
If returning to your home after transplant, a complete general cleaning of your home must be done before the patient arrives home. The kitchen and bathroom areas should be cleaned with a weak mixture of bleach and water. Also, wash your child's towels and bed linens including any blankets and comforters.
Among patients given syngeneic transplants, actuarial disease-free survival at 7 years is 20%. The major causes of death were relapse of leukemia and idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. Among allogeneic recipients, 9 (23%) are currently alive, and actuarial disease-free survival at 7 years is 11%.
People have more probability of surviving for another 15 years after a bone marrow transplant, who's been able to survive for at least 5 years after hematopoietic cell transplant without any signs and symptoms of relapse of the original disease. However, a normal life expectancy is not completely achieved.
Losing your appetite, losing weight and feeling tired are common side effects during and after a transplant. You might not feel like eating, but good nutrition will play an important part in your care and recovery.
Bacterial infections are the most common. Viral, fungal and other infections can also occur. Some infections can develop later on, weeks to months after the transplant. Infections can cause extended hospital stay, prevent or delay engraftment, cause organ damage, and may be life threatening.
Conditioning: You'll check into the hospital or outpatient clinic about 5 to 10 days before your bone marrow transplant. During this time, you will undergo the conditioning regimen to prepare your body. Most people have several doses of chemotherapy, full-body radiation or both.
Experts say that weight gain is common among transplant patients. And while keeping a healthy weight is important for everyone, it's especially important after you've had a transplant. Keeping a healthy weight lowers your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
The total costs of a stem cell transplant are typically $350,000-$800,000, depending on whether the procedure is autologous, meaning some of the patient's own marrow or stem cells are used, or allogeneic, meaning cells are harvested from a donor.
You might have a stem cell or bone marrow transplant as part of your treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). A transplant allows you to have high doses of chemotherapy and other treatments. The stem cells are collected from the bloodstream or the bone marrow.
A brother or sister is most likely to be a match. There is a 1 in 4 chance of your cells matching. This is called a matched related donor (MRD) transplant. Anyone else in the family is unlikely to match.
A 2016 study of over 6,000 adults with AML found that people who received an autologous bone marrow transplant had a 5-year survival rate of 65%. For those who received an allogenic bone marrow transplant, it was 62%.
If you need to be in a hospital, you probably won't have to stay longer than 3 weeks. If the stem cells came from another person (allogeneic transplant), you may spend 4 weeks or longer in the hospital. About 1 out of 4 people need to be readmitted within the first 3 months because of problems that may occur.