Bone marrow transplantation is one of the treatment options for a serious blood disease, immune system disorder, cancer or genetic disease. Various terms are used to define the procedure of bone marrow transplantation;

• Bone marrow transplantation
• Stem cell transplantation
• Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. They all have same meaning.

All these terms imply transplanting the blood stem cells in order to regenerate the bone marrow or storing thereof in order to manage adverse effects of high-dose chemotherapy and using them following the high-dose chemotherapy. The sources of stem cells used in the bone marrow transplantation are;

• Bone marrow
• Peripheral Blood
• Cord blood.

Accordingly, your physician will explain the method that fits best to your condition, when a decision is made about the bone marrow transplantation.

Recently, the public is imposed a misconception that the bone marrow transplantation or in other words, the stem cell transplantation is the only chance of treatment for leukemia patients. However, stem cell transplantation will be indicated if there is risk of recurrence or if the genetic tests carried out at diagnostic phase point to poor prognosis. Although the stem cell transplantation is regarded as a hope in the treatment of leukemia, it does not mean that the modality eliminates all possible problems. Post-transplantation follow-up (regarding both the disease and the problems arising out of or in connection with the transplantation) are as important as the transplantation procedure. The stem cell transplant patient should be followed up for a long time. The major problems faced after the transplantation are infections and abnormal sensitivity reactions that occur when the stem cells of the donor view the recipient’s organs as foreign. Therefore, a properly planned post-discharge lifestyle, regular use of the medicines and visiting your doctor at pre-determined intervals are very important to eliminate above mentioned infections and the tissue rejection.

 Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation

In this procedure, bone marrow is transplanted from a match donor. Bone marrow transplantation from a donor may be an efficient treatment method when a disease spreads to your bone marrow (leukemia), or your bone marrow does not function (aplastic anemia) or your bone marrow produces abnormal cells (myelodysplastic syndrome, major thalassemia). Thus, blood stem cells of another person will be transplanted to you and your bone marrow will be substituted by these cells. Siblings, relatives or unrelated people can become donors for this treatment. Blood type compatibility is not necessary, but there should be full match between tissue antigens at molecular level. While we prefer a full match between the recipient and the donor, partial matches can be accepted up to a certain percent.

Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation

Here, your own healthy bone marrow is used. Your bone barrow is harvested and stored in order to give the opportunity of high-dose chemotherapy for lymph cancer, multiple myeloma or some other cancers, and the bone marrow is infused back to you after the chemotherapy is completed. Thus, the intact bone marrow is protected against destructive effects of the high-dose chemotherapy.

• Protecting healthy bone marrow against high-dose chemoradiotherapy, if required for a patient with cancer (autologous).
• Substituting the diseased cells/bone marrow with ones from a healthy donor (allogeneic).
• Managing the diseased bone marrow,
• Correcting the suppression of immune system
• Correcting the congenitally anomalous metabolic or enzymatic system
• Rearrangement of patient’s own stem cells/T cells (for the treatment of autoimmune diseases)

Leukemia and Lymphomas

• Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia
• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
• Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (primarily medication treatment)
• Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Multiple myeloma and other plasma cell diseases

• Multiple Myeloma
• Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia

Severe aplastic anemia and other bone marrow insufficiencies

• Severe aplastic anemia.
• Fanconi anemia
• Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
• Pure erythrocyte aplasia

Hemoglobinopathies

• Beta-thalassemia major
• Sickle cell anemia.

Hereditary immune system diseases

• Severe Combined Immune Deficiency
• Wiskott – Aldrich Syndrome

Hereditary metabolic diseases,

• Hurler Syndrome

Myelodisplastic and chronic myeloproliferative diseases

• Refractory anemia with abundant blasts
• Myelofibrosis