A Bone Marrow Transplant Ushers In A Fresh Lease Of Life

Getting operated for a bone marrow transplant makes you get the goosebumps as you have to have a matching bone marrow for the transplant. Also, you need to get the transplant done in a medical facility that caters to all the facilities that are required for a better operation.

A bone marrow transplant or a Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation caters to the transplantation of the multi-potent hematopoetic stem cells that are usually derived from the peripheral blood, the bone marrow or the umbilical cord blood. A medical procedure that is mostly performed for patients that have certain cancer related to the blood or the bone marrow.

The process of the transplantation is such that the recipient's immune system is usually destroyed using radiation or chemotherapy just before the process. A bone marrow transplant process is actually a procedure that helps replace the damaged or destroyed bone marrow with  healthy bone marrow stem cells. But the question is what is a bone marrow?

Well, it is the soft and fatty tissue that is found inside the bones. Th stem cells are immature cells in the bone marrow that give rise to all the blood cells.

Frankly, there are three basic types of bone marrow transplants, namely:

• Autologous Bone marrow transplant: Here, the stem cells are removed from the body before receiving the high-dose radiation treatment and is stored in a  freezer. After wards the stem cells are again put back in the body and added to the normal blood cells.
• Allogeneic bone marrow transplant:  Here the stem cells are removed from the another person, who is called the donor. The donor must at least be partly matching to you genetically.
• Umbilical cord blood transplant: The stem cell are removed from a newborn baby's umbilical cord immediately after the birth and are stored until they are needed for a transplant.

The process before the transplant takes place can be executed in two manners and they are:

• Ablative treatment: A high-dose chemotherapy or radiation or both are given to kill the cancer cells. This even kills the healthy bone marrow if present, and then allows the new stem cells to grow back in the bone marrow.
• Reduced intensity treatment: A lower-dose of chemotherapy and radiation is provided to the patents before a transplant. This allows the elder ones to have a transplant.

The process remains a dangerous procedure with possible complications, though and can have the symptoms like, chest pain, chills, drop in blood pressure, fever, headache, hives, etc. There are many health care initiatives that have to be kept in mind like the medical history of the person and a physical exam.

Just before the bone marrow transplant, you might have one or two tubes called catheters inserted into a blood vessel through your neck or arms. This allows you to receive treatments, fluids and small amounts of nutrition. Some things to consider include advanced care directives, arranging medical leave from work, etc. all in all the bone marrow transplant makes  you consider things that are of high regards.