People have come across the term bone marrow in their science books or simply have heart of it from someone or their physician. It is actually a spongy type of tissue that is present within the bones and contains immature cells or stem cells. The latter might convert into red blood cells to carry across oxygen all over the body. It also carries white blood cells that are essential to fight off infections that may affect the person and also help with clotting of blood. If the doctor suggests the patient to undergo treatment, then it will be wise to choose the best bone marrow transplant hospitals in India.
Who requires undergoing bone marrow transplantation procedure?
The medical doctor who performs the bone marrow transplantation procedure is the Oncologist. But not every patient is suggested to undergo this transplantation procedure as it is conducted only in the given below cases:
- Patients suffering from various types of diseases including sickle cell anaemia, thalassemia, etc.
- Patients suffering from Myeloma.
- Immunodeficiency patients.
- Leukaemia also referred to as blood cancer.
About bone marrow transplantation
It is not easy to conduct the transplantation procedure. The patient is required to undergo chemotherapy in high dosage including edition. This procedure helps to eliminate the faulty stem cells that have developed in the body. Unrelated children or any family member can become a donor. At times, cells get saved in advance to be used at a later stage. This procedure comes with its own serious risks that need to be understood in details. For some patients, conducting it can help to survive much longer.
Bone marrow transplant types
There can be performed different types of transplantation procedures of which few are given below:
- Allogenic Transplantation: It is also called donor transplant. Chemotherapy is necessary in this case, similar to autologous transplantation. Infusion of blood cell of the donor is performed after chemotherapy. The marrow however is to be taken only from immune (HLA) matched donor. The donor in this case needs to avail cell mobilization. The oncologist is known to take tissue from those people whose tissue tends to match perfectly with the patient’s. the reason is because the tissue being closer, the outcome derived can be more positive.
- Autologous Transplantation: This is termed as self-donated transplant and involves giving the patient chemotherapy in high dosage and infusion of stem cells that were collected previously. The oncologists give chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells. Stem cell infusion helps to replace the chemotherapy destroyed bone marrow. The donor is not required in this case, since the patient himself/herself acts as the donor. The major benefit derived from this type of transplantation procedure is that the patient is not required to suffer from complications arising from host disease vs. graft.
Different types performed in Allogenic transplantation
- Matched unrelated donor: Some cases are present where no relative donor exists. The oncologist in such cases tends to search the international registry to find the perfect match.
- Related donor: There may be relatives who can be willing to provide the bone marrow to the patients, which can prove to be an additional advantage. The reason is because, with higher matches, the risks experienced are likely to be very less. Siblings have been termed to be the closest match to derive. Identical twins also are perfect match.
Half matched donor Allogenic Transplantation
Haplotype donors in this particular procedure provide the bone marrow. It can be siblings, children and biological parents. It is meant for those patients having limited siblings as well as unrelated donor options.
- Allogeneic Transplantation by using Umbilical Cord: The other option available is of umbilical cord. In case, there is not present any matching donor, then blood can be taken from the new-born’s umbilical cord. The cord’s immune cells are stated to be always ‘naïve’ and do not have the power to attack newly developed cells. Therefore, the cord stem cells are not required to be a close match.
According to the medical specialists, the only solution available for people suffering from cancer is to undergo bone marrow transplantation procedure from the best bone marrow transplant hospitals in India.