What is bone marrow?

Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside some of your bones, such as the hip and thigh bones. It contains stem cells. The stem cells can develop into the red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body, the white blood cells that fight infections, and the platelets that help with blood clotting.

What is bone marrow transplant?

A bone marrow transplant is a medical procedure performed to replace bone marrow that has been damaged or destroyed by a disease, infection, or by chemotherapy. This procedure involves transplanting blood stem cells, which travel to the bone marrow where they produce new blood cells and promote growth of new marrow. Bone marrow transplants are performed when a person’s marrow isn’t healthy enough to function properly this could be due to chronic infections, disease, or cancer treatments.

Indications of BM transplant:

• Aplastic anemia, which is a disorder in which the marrow stops making new blood cells.
• Cancers that affect the marrow, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. 

Types of BM transplant:

1. Autologous transplant:

• It involves the use of a person’s own stem cells. They typically involve harvesting patient’s cells before beginning a damaging therapy to cells like chemotherapy or radiation. 
• After the treatment is done, your own cells are returned to your body.
• This type of transplant isn’t always available. It can only be used if you have a healthy bone marrow. However, it reduces the risk of some serious complications, including GVHD.
  
  

2. Allogeneic Transplants:

• It involves the use of cells from a donor. The donor must be a close genetic match. Often, a compatible relative is the best choice, but genetic matches can also be found from a donor registry.
• It is necessary if patients have a condition that has damaged their bone marrow cells. 
• What to expect: The success of an allogeneic transplant depends on how closely the donor cells genetically match the patient’s.

Engraftment: 

• It will be regularly monitored.
• It’s generally complete between 10 and 28 days after the initial transplant. 
• The first sign of engraftment is a rising white blood cell count, this shows that the transplant is starting to make new blood cells. 

Recovery:

Typical recovery time for a bone marrow transplant is about three months. However, it may take up to a year for full recovery that depends on numerous factors, including: The condition being treated, chemotherapy radiation donor match, where the transplant is performed There’s a possibility that some of the symptoms patient mat experience after the transplant that sometime remain for life.