Apollo Speciality
Hospital
Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Apollo Hospitals are the pioneers of blood and bone marrow transplantations in India. The center has successfully performed more than 150 transplantations. Bone marrow transplantation is one of the latest forms of comprehensive curing procedure that is used to very effectively cure various types of cancers and complications like lymphomas, leukaemias and other ailments like thalassaemia.
Bone Marrow is the main center for producing blood in our body and is found in the bones. It creates Red Blood Cells (to transmit oxygen within the body), white blood cells (to prevent infections) and platelets (to prevent excessive bleeding). The blood cells in the earliest stage are the stem cells prior to developing into platelets, white cells or red cells. The key aspect in the transplantation is the "mother cells".
Types of bone marrow or stem cell transplantation:-
Autologous Transplants: In this process, one's own stem cells are used to transplant the bone marrow. Some of the stem cells or bone marrow of the patient is stored for the high dose treatment procedure. The stem cells or the bone marrow are put in place through a vein after the treatment is complete.
Allogeneic Transplants: In this transplant process, the bone marrow that is used is someone else's. For this, the bone marrow donated should have the same tissues. Common donors are brothers or sisters or close relatives. Although unrelated donors also form good matches, the cases are rare in India.
Basic process
One should know why he/she is having the blood and marrow transplantation and what kind of process will be undergone. This helps the patient to take mental preparations before undergoing the transplantation. Here below is the entire process discussed in details.
There are three key steps in the blood and marrow transplantation process -
In the first step, the bone marrow or the stem cells are taken from the donor. Stem cells can also be taken from the umbilical cord blood.
In the second step, the existing bone marrow is completely destroyed and new stem cells are put in its place.
In the third step, the stem cells and bone marrow are sent through the intravenous route such as blood transfusion. The time needed for the bone marrow to completely start functioning can range from two to three weeks to even few months.
Umbilical Cord Blood is a new root of blood forming stem cells required for those patients who suffers from severe blood diseases, like leukaemia and immediately needs bone marrow transplantation. The blood that remains in the placenta has a rich proportion of stem cells and is very suitable for bone marrow transplantation. The stem cells inside the cord blood are very effective in creating new blood cells. Serious immunological side effects are also lesser in case of cord blood transplantation. The matching of the recipient and the donor is less complex. The scopes for getting ideal cord blood for transplantation is higher compared to the bone marrow.
After effects of transplantation:-
Infection - During this treatment, number of white blood cells starts decreasing in the body making the affected person infection prone that is originated by the bacteria that usually stays in the body. Antibiotics and mouthwashes are given to avoid this.
Anaemia- Anaemia patients are dangerous so they need to be treated before the transplantation. 10-15 blood donors are needed for this whole course of action.
Eating problems – During the transplant, the patient needs to consult a dietician who recommends some adequate diet for the swiftness of the treatment process. In some cases, special fluids are also administered.
Follow up: The patient needs to go through a series of blood tests for the initial two to three months after being discharged from the hospital. These are done to supervise the blood counts. In order to prevent infection, drugs of different doses are also administered. The patient also needs to take to stay away from complications.