A bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a procedure involving the transplantation of healthy bone marrow into a patient whose bone marrow is not functioning properly.
There are many different types of blood cells, but they all develop from immature precursor cells, known as stem cells, which are most often found in the bone marrow. This marrow may be damaged or destroyed by the high doses of chemotherapy often used to treat hematologic diseases, and the patient may not be able to produce the necessary blood cells. In a bone marrow transplant, marrow damaged by the high dose therapy is replaced by marrow containing healthy stem cells, so that the patient can produce blood cells again.
BMT is different from organ transplants. For example, there is no surgery involved. Instead, the new marrow is fed into the body intravenously, like a blood transfusion.
Bone Marrow Transplantation at USC Norris Cancer Hospital
In addition to the attending physician, our BMT patients are seen by a transplantation nurse, social worker and dietitian. Other team members include a pharmacist, infection-control nurse and, if desired, a clergy member. We believe it is important to not only treat our patients’ hematologic conditions, but to take care of their need for information and support, as well. This includes the opportunity to participate in special educational sessions developed by our BMT team that occur prior to transplantation.
Diseases Treated by BMT
BMT can be used to treat blood-related cancers, such as:
Types of BMT
Depending on the situation, a BMT will either be autologous or allogeneic.
Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation
Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation involves the transplantation of bone marrow stem cells that have been previously harvested from a patient’s own body (typically during remission or prior to high-dose chemotherapy) and stored for this purpose. The cells may be treated before they are returned to the patient’s body in a process known as purging. The primary advantage of autologous transplantation is that the chance of rejection is much lower because the cells are the patient’s own.
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation involves the transplantation of bone marrow stem cells that have been harvested from a healthy donor. The advantage of this procedure is that the cells being transplanted come from a person who is not suffering from the disease being treated. This theoretically increases the chance of the procedure’s success. However, with allogeneic transplantation, there may be the chance the recipient’s body will reject the cells.
Accreditation
The BMT Program at USC Norris Cancer Hospital is accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). FACT certification is a voluntary, comprehensive process that is becoming a benchmark for stem cell therapy. It serves as independent assurance of a transplant program’s quality and capabilities.
Community-based Care
The BMT Program maintains affiliations with a number of community cancer centers, which helps streamline the referral, evaluation, transplantation and follow-up process, while providing greater convenience to our patients. In addition, we offer a community-based care program that closely interacts with community physicians, which enables patients to receive certain aspects of their care right in their own community, rather than at USC Norris Cancer Hospital.
For a physician referral, call 1-800-700-3956.