Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Facts
What is Bone Marrow Transplantation?
When you hear the term “bone marrow transplantation” or “bone marrow transplant” the actual cells that are being transplanted are hematopoietic stem cells that are made in the bone marrow.
Stem cells are immature blood cells that grow into red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, or plasma cells. Stem cells are an essential part of a person’s immune system.
The purpose of a bone marrow transplant, or BMT, is to cure otherwise fatal diseases. Using high doses of chemotherapy, radiation, or both to first destroy a patient’s diseased bone marrow, the patient is then transplanted with healthy bone marrow. The goal is to establish a fully functioning and cancer-free blood and immune system.
Types of Transplants
There are five types of transplants:
• Autologous – uses the patient's own stem cells
• Allogeneic – uses a related or unrelated donor's cells
• Cord blood – donated umbilical cord cells
• Syngeneic – uses the cell's from the patients identical twin
• Mixed chimerism ("mini") – uses cells from a related or unrelated donor
The type of transplant you receive depends on your situation.
The newest type of transplant is the mini, or mixed chimerism transplant, and can come from a related or unrelated donor. This is like a conventional transplant except that less chemotherapy and radiation is used before transplanting stem cells to set up a mixed immune system. This type of transplant is effective in some cases, without all the side effects of a conventional transplant.
Diseases Treated with a Transplant
If you have been diagnosed with cancer or another condition that affects your blood, your doctors may recommend a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. These conditions include various types of leukemia and some non-cancerous disorders, such as aplastic anemia.
At Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, a hematopoietic cell transplant (bone marrow or stem cells) can be used to treat the following conditions:
Non-malignant disorders (non-cancerous)
• Aplastic anemia
• Hemoglobinopathies, including sickle cell anemia
• Immune deficiency disorders
• Autoimmune diseases including scleroderma and multiple sclerosis
Malignant diseases (cancer)
• Acute and chronic leukemias
• Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Myelodysplasia
• Multiple myeloma
• Myelofibrosis
• Renal cell carcinoma