Marrow Transplant

Bone marrow transplantation

The rate of treatment of cancer and non-cancer blood diseases in hematology is increasing day by day. Bone marrow transplantation is an elite treatment approach that has an important place in the treatment of hematological diseases. Stem cells, also known as “Bone marrow transplantation”, are used in the treatment of blood cancers by obtaining stem cells from blood and umbilical cord as well as bone marrow, thanks to new developing technologies.

Stem cell transplantations are named as “bone marrow transplantation”, “peripheral stem cell transplantation” and “cord blood transplantation” according to the source from which the stem cells are obtained. If the person’s own stem cells are used for transplantation, it is called “autologous stem cell transplantation”, if the transplant is performed with stem cells from a healthy donor, it is called “allogeneic stem cell transplantation”. The methods of application of both types of transplantation and the risks they pose for the patient are different from each other. The annual number of transplants in our country is over 4 thousand.

Common types of blood cancers such as leukemias, lymphomas and multiple myeloma constitute the group of diseases in which stem cell transplantation is predominantly performed. Diseases causing bone marrow failure, some solid organ cancers and hereditary diseases such as thalassemia, which is especially common in our country, and some immune system diseases are also important areas of use.

Autologous stem cell transplant

The mechanisms of action and application methods of autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants are different from each other. The aim of autologous stem cell transplantation is to kill the cancer cells in the patient by giving high-dose chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy together.

Allogeneic stem cell transplant

The therapeutic effect of allogeneic stem cell transplantation is different. In this procedure, as in autologous stem cell transplantation, high-dose chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy is given to the patient to kill cancer cells. With the effect of this high-dose treatment, the blood-forming cells in the patient’s bone marrow are destroyed, just like in autologous stem cell transplantation. After high-dose treatment, a sufficient number of stem cells collected from a healthy donor are transplanted instead of the patient’s own stem cells, unlike autologous stem cell transplantation.

Who Can Be a Donor?

For bone marrow transplantation, the blood group of the recipient and the donor does not need to be the same. Transplantation can also be done between people with different blood types. What matters is how similar the tissue group antigens are between the patient and the donor (recipient and donor). Tissue compatibility is among the factors that directly affect the success of transplantation.

How Is Bone Marrow Taken?

Bone marrow stem cell collection is performed under general anesthesia in operating room conditions. With special needles, the bone is entered and the bone marrow is drawn into the injectors. Bone marrow stem cells taken in a certain amount are given intravenously to the patient after undergoing various filtering processes.