Bone Marrow Transplantation: Procedure, Conditions, Risk, Recovery, and Cost

The bone marrow is the spongy, fatty tissue that is present in the center of your bones. The main function of the bone marrow is to produce RBCs, WBCs, and platelets.

The bone marrow transplant or Stem cell transplant is the procedure through which a donor or your blood stem cells are transplanted in the bone marrow so that these active or healthy or strong stem cells replace the infected or destroyed cells in the bone marrow.

There are 2 types of bone marrow transplant:

·         Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant(Healthy stem cells taken from a donor)

·         Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant or Rescue Transplant (healthy stem cells are taken from your body with the help of a process called apheresis)

Procedure:

Pre-transplant

In this procedure, the bone marrow examination test is to be performed to determine the types of bone marrow you require. Like, if you are taking cancer treatment then you might get BMA (bone marrow aspiration) & biopsy done too. It will take several days to make sure that you are a suitable candidate.

Conditioning process

There are two ways

·         Mini transplant is the process in which operations are given to you in smaller doses of radiation and chemotherapy.

·         Ablative treatment is the process in which operations are given in high doses of radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of both treatments.

Conditions/Reasons and Risks:

The major reasons/conditions for bone marrow transplants are as follows:

·         Immune deficiencies

·         Congenital neutropenia

·         POEM syndrome

·         Aplastic Anemia, Neuroblastoma

·         Plasma cells disorder

·         Metabolism error of inborn

·         Cancer(Bone Marrow)

·         Adrenoleukodystrophy

The major risk associated with the bone marrow transplants are as follows:

Minor Risk arises due to bone marrow transplant includes impaired taste, a prolonged headache, blood pressure drop, stroke or chest pain, nausea, chills, and difficulties in breathing. There are some serious risks which are associated with the procedure of transplant such as:

·         GVHD (host disease) can be harmful to your body

·         Contract infection easily

·         Liver clotting

·         Anemia

·         Vital organs such as lungs & brain start breeding

Recovery & Cost:

Recovery after transplantation will take a few weeks. Stick to a healthy diet for fast recovery. The main keys to recover you are: stay hydrated, avoid hard drinks, include only whole grain products, low salt content, low dairy product, etc. 

The stem transplant cost depends on several factors such as the location of the transplant and types of a transplant; you are getting. The accurate cost will be calculated after some appropriate tests by your doctor. But one thing is confirmed that the bone marrow transplant cost in India lesser than in other countries. The bone marrow transplant cost in India can vary from hospital to hospital, thus you do your online research and take quotations from 3-4 hospitals and then proceed.