An Introduction to Transplant
Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside some of the bones, such as hip and thigh bones. It contains stem cells which can develop into the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body, the white blood cells that fight infections, and the platelets that help with blood clotting, which are necessary for survival. Due to various reasons known and some currently being researched, the stem cells in bone marrow are either damaged or turn unhealthy.
Introduction to BMT
A bone marrow transplant is a treatment similar to a blood transfusion that replaces unhealthy marrow with healthy ones/ damaged stem cells with healthy cells. This Replacement of cells can either come from your own body or from a donor.
Healthy Cells replaced from Own Body it is called autologous transplant
If the healthy cells come from a donor it’s called allogeneic transplant
Either way, there are three basic steps:
- Collect healthy stem cells from your own body or from a Donor
- Get your body ready to receive them (conditioning).
- Place the new cells into your body.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) more than 50,000 people worldwide undergo a blood stem cell transplant each year.