Bone Marrow Transplant: What You Need to Know

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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
1:13 who needs a bone marrow transplant
2:03 Risks
3:11 Preparation
3:34 After the procedure




Bone Marrow Transplant: What You Need to Know
• The bone marrow is a fatty, spongy tissue that is responsible for the development of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. 
• The three are important components of the blood and are essential for basic life functions. 
• Damage to the bone marrow can be a result of infection, disease, or chemotherapy. The damage can prove to be life-threatening as the development of blood cells and platelets is compromised. 
• Damaged or destroyed bone marrows have to be replaced in a procedure known as a bone marrow transplant. 
• This involves transplanting blood stem cells that go to the bone marrow, producing new blood cells, and helping out in the development of new bone marrow. 
• It is a process of replacing damaged stem cells with healthy ones that come from a donor that matches with the patient requiring the bone marrow transplant. 
• The cells can also come from the patient’s body. 
• They may be taken before a medical procedure such as chemotherapy and harvested to be used later if required.
• Let’s look at bone marrow transplant in detail: 
Who Needs a Bone Marrow Transplant?
• A bone marrow transplant is required when a person’s bone marrow is not healthy enough to perform its functions. 
• This may be due to conditions such as: 
• Cancers affecting the marrow such as lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. 
• Aplastic anemia, which affects the marrow and causes it to stop making blood cells. 
• Thalassemia, a genetic disorder that causes the body to make abnormal hemoglobin. 
• Damage to the bone marrow from chemotherapy. 
• Sickle cell anemia, an inherited blood disorder that causes the development of abnormal red blood cells. 
• Congenital neutropenia, an inherited condition that results in recurring infections. 
Risks
• Risks commonly associated with a bone marrow transplant are: 
• Nausea
• Pain
• Chills
• Fever
• A drop in blood pressure
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• These conditions are usually short-lived, but your risk of getting them depends on:
• Age
• Type of marrow transplant
• Overall health
• The disease you are receiving treatment for
• Some serious, but rare, complications include: 
• Cataracts
• Organ damage
• Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) 
• Anemia
• Infections
• Mucositis
• Bleeding in the brain, lungs, and other parts of the body
• Graft failure
• Early menopause
• Nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting
Preparation
• A bone marrow transplant is preceded by significant preparation. 
• You will need to undergo tests to see what type of transplant you need, with autologous being done with your stem cells and allogeneic using cells from a donor. 
• You have to ask a lot of questions from your doctor and make sure you are aware of all the risks before going ahead with it. 
After the Procedure
• The success of the procedure is highly dependent on how closely the patient and donor’s cells match. 
• The first sign of success is rising white blood cell count, which may take 28 days to appear. 
• Overall recovery can take up to 3 months during which a patient will be constantly monitored to make sure they do not reject the donor’s cells.