How bone marrow transplantation is done

Our comprehensive bone marrow transplant center to provide our international patients with the best transplant experience possible. Our transplant team includes surgeons, physicians, nurses, social workers, nutritionists, pharmacists, therapists, psychologists, any many other specialists trained in transplantation, who are committed to actively working with our international patients through every step of the transplant process.

Bone marrow transplantation

Bone marrow transplant (BMT) or Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the procedure that is used to replace the unhealthy bone marrow with new healthy bone marrow. Bone marrow is the soft fatty tissue inside the bones that is responsible for the production of blood cells. There are several medical conditions to which the bone marrow become dysfunctional and therefore needs to be replaced. Further there are multiple types of Bone marrow transplants based on the donor of the bone marrow or stem cells.

Haploidentical (Half-Matched) Transplant

. T-Cell Depletion is mandating in haploidentical transplant.

. T-Cell Depletion can be done in two ways. INVIVO (T cell depleted by using high dose of chemotherapy inside the body) or INVITRO T cell depletion (T cell depletion by using a machine outside the body). Both these modalities have their advantages and disadvantages. Choice depends on a number of patient and donor related factors.

Allogenic bone marrow transplant (BMT) is typically recommended to treat certain medical conditions where the bone marrow is dysfunctional.

  . Cancers like leukaemia, Myelo-dysplasia etc.

  . Disease that affect the production of bone marrow cells like

      . Aplastic anaemia (acquired or inherited)

      . Other marrow failure states (ex. Congenital neutropenia, amega karyocytic thrombocyto-penia etc)

      . Severe immunodeficiency syndrome's

      . Sickle cell anaemia

      . Thalassemia major

 Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant ( High dose chemotherapy + autologous stem cell rescue) is recommended to treat where we need to give high dose of chemotherapy to treat underlying disease following which autologous harvested bone marrow is given as rescue. The Indication includes:

.Cancers Like :

      . Neuroblastoma

      . Medulloblastoma

      . Wilm's Tumor

      . Lymphoma's

      . Multiple Myeloma etc.

. It can also be used to treat various autoimmune diseases the commonest indication being multiple sclerosis.

Adverse Effect

For the Donors: Donating stem cells is very safe. We take the utmost care to minimize side effects of stem cell harvest. However, a donor of a bone marrow transplant produce may experience the following side-effects:

. Chest Pain

. Stiffness of hands also known as tetany

. Low blood pressure

. Fever, chills, flushing

. Foul taste in mouth

. Headache, Hives, Nausea, Pain

. Shortness of breath

Bone Marrow & Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Harvest

For the Recipient: While the bone marrow transplant is mostly considered to be a safe procedure, there are several factors that determine the type of complications that might arise after the transplant . These factors include:

. The complexity of the disease

. Whether the recipient was prescribed chemotherapy or radiation before the transplant and the corresponding dosages

. Age of the recipient Vs Health of the recipient

. Quality of match between the donor and the recipient

. Type of transplant received (autologous and allogeneic)

. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in which the donor cells attack the recipient's body.

. Infections

The factors above may result in some complications that the recipient of the bone marrow transplant experience. Some of them are as mentioned below:

. Anaemia

. Bleeding in the lungs, intestines, brain and other areas of the body.

. Cataracts

. Clotting in the small viens of the liver

. Delayed growth in the children who recieve a bone marrow transplant.

. Early menopause

. Graft failure, which means that the new cells do not settle into the body and start producing stem cells.

All Our Transplants Centres Are Equipped With

.  Dedicated operating theaters customized for transplant surgeries

.  Dedicated state-of-the art intensive care units

.  Specialty blood bank facilities

.  High end laboratories for all tests & investigations

. Diagnostic and Radiology facilities which include 64 slice CT scanners, 3 Tesla MRI machines, high-end ultrasound facilities.

.  Dedicated wards and rooms for transplant patients

.  Counsellors and Transplant Co-ordinators to take care of all your needs

.  Dedicated helplines and unit managers to take care of your treatment needs and requirements

.  Dedicated and trained nursing staff for your pre-operative and post-operative care.