Bone Marrow Transplant

Bone Marrow Transplant


Bone Marrow Transplant Surgery In India

A Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) also referred to as a Stem Cell Transplant is a medical surgery carried out in order to replace the bone marrow in the body that has been damaged or indefinitely impaired due to factors like disease, infection or even chemotherapy. Thus, the patient's faulty bone marrow stem cells are replaced.

Bone marrow is a spongy tissue present inside some of your bones, especially the hips and the thigh area. The immature cells present within this tissue are called stem cells. The bone marrow contains:

  • Red blood cells (RBC's) which carry oxygen and nutrients throughout the body
  • White blood cells (WBC's), which fight infection and provide immunity
  • Platelets, which are helpful in the formation of clots, preventing excessive bleeding.

During Chemotherapy, the radiations kill the bone marrow cells too while killing the cancer cells. One of these damaged bone marrow cells are replaced by the Bone Marrow Transplant, the doctors can give aggressive doses of radiation to the cancer patients since now new stem cells have been transplanted into the body.

Which Patients undergo the Bone Marrow Transplant?

Bone marrow transplants are performed when a person’s marrow no longer remains healthy and sound enough to carry out its usual functions. Doctors may carry out the Bone Marrow Transplant on patients who suffer from:

  • Cancers Affecting the Marrow area, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma
  • Blood diseases such as thalassemias, aplastic anaemia, and sickle cell anaemia
  • Solid Tumors
  • Certain immune deficiency diseases
  • Congenital neutropenia, which is an inherited disorder that causes recurring infection

Types of Bone Marrow Transplant

There are two major types of a bone marrow transplant. Each type would depend on the situation of the patient's need for the transplant.

Allogeneic Transplant: The patient receives bone marrow or stem cells from a donor who may or not is a family member.

Autologous Transplant: The patient receives a bone marrow transplant of his/her own stem cells that were collected and stored before the application of the chemotherapy/radiation treatment.

Bone Marrow Transplant Donor

In order to be a patient's bone marrow transplant donor, the donor must match their patient's tissue type, specifically their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue type.

HLAs are proteins that are found in most cells of your body. Your immune system uses these proteins or markers to identify the cells that belong in your body and which do not. The closer the match between the patient's HLA markers and bone marrow transplant donor's, the better the chances of being a good donor for the bone marrow transplant.

NOTE: Donors never pay for donating, and are never paid to donate. According to Indian law, an only close relative can be the donor. For more information click here.

After the procedure

The newly introduced stem cells make their way to the bone marrow through the circulatory system. Eventually, they increase and start producing brand-new, normal blood cells. In biology, this process is known as engraftment. In most cases, normalization of blood cell count takes weeks to months. It will be longer than usual, for sure. Regular blood tests and other diagnostic procedures will be performed after the transplant. Medications to treat nausea and diarrhoea may be required.

You'll need to be under the care of your doctors for some time after your bone marrow transplan . You may need additional nights in the hospital if you're dealing with an illness or another problem. The kind of transplant and the potential for problems will determine how long you'll need to be close to the hospital after the procedure. Once your bone marrow starts manufacturing enough of these cells, you may also require regular red blood cells and platelet transfusions.

A transplant increases your risk of infection and other consequences for many months. Your doctor will continue to see you regularly for the rest of your life to screen for any potential late problems.

Our Top Bone Marrow Transplant Surgeons

1. Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh

Dr. Pawan Kumar Singh is the top bone marrow transplant surgeon in India. He has performed more than 300 cases of bone marrow transplants for both malignant and non-malignant blood disorders.

dr-pawan-kumar-singh-bone-marrow-transplant

2. Dr. Dharma Chaudhary

Dr. Dharma Chaudhary is the leading bone marrow transplant specialist and haematologist. He with his team had conducted over 850 cases of allogeneic bone marrow transplant.

dr-dharma-chaudhary-bone-marrow-transplant

3. Dr. Shishir Seth

Dr. Shishir Seth is a renowned bone marrow transplant surgeon in India. He is efficient in the treatment of leukaemia, lymphoma, and other blood cancers and blood-related ailments.

dr-shishir-seth-bone-marrow-transplant

Bone Marrow Transplant Complications

The Bone Marrow Transplant is very delicate surgery. The surgery on a whole may provide your body strength by fusing new stem cells that contain RBC's, WBC's and Platelets that are vital for body's immunity. However, there's a small list of mild complications that follow.

  • A drop in blood pressure
  • A headache
  • Nausea
  • Body Pain
  • Fever
  • Mild Infection
  • Diarrhoea, or vomiting

Bone marrow transplant for children

Some childhood cancer and other disorders may be treated with a bone marrow transplant  (BMT). When performed on a kid, BMT aims to transplant healthy bone marrow instead of defective bone marrow. The spongy tissue known as bone marrow may be found in the middle of most bones and is responsible for producing both mature and immature blood cells and stem cells.

BMT involves removing immature cells from a donor's stem cells and reinfusing them into the same kid. If not, they are transferred to yet another ill kid. These immature cells will mature into rich bone marrow. The graft is another name for transplanted stem cells. You will be your child's only donor. There are two methods for extracting your child's stem cells:

Cells that renew themselves at the periphery of the blood system (PBSCs)

Apheresis is the procedure used to harvest your child's stem cells. Apheresis is a technique used to harvest blood-borne stem cells. After rigorous therapy, your child's cells will be returned to them.

Extraction of Bone Marrow

A needle is inserted into your child's bone marrow to harvest stem cells. Hip bones are often harvested for bone marrow because of the higher concentration of stem cells.

How soon may I expect to see improvements in my child's health following the transplant?

Your kid might spend anywhere from three to eight weeks in the hospital after receiving a transplant. The drug used to stimulate the body's production of new blood cells may have undesirable consequences for your kid. Sore muscles, exhaustion, and a high temperature are among the symptoms.

There's a chance that you and your kid won't be able to go home for weeks after leaving the hospital, thanks to follow-up appointments at the clinic. It might take many weeks or months for the patient to feel completely well.

There is a risk that your child's body would reject the transplant, which might have disastrous consequences. The transplant team will check for signs of rejection and communicate closely with your family doctor to arrange follow-up treatment in your local area.

Children who get a bone marrow transplant  have excellent long-term outcomes. Bone marrow transplant  recipients in children may need to take additional precautions to prevent catching common illnesses. They will also need to schedule consistent follow-up appointments with their doctor.

Bone Marrow Transplant Recovery

The success rate of your Bone Marrow Transplant is highly subject to your Bone Marrow Transplant Donor. It is quite an ordeal to arrange for a good Bone Marrow Transplant Donor who is totally unrelated to you.

Post your Bone Marrow Transplant, the engraftment is monitored regularly and takes between 10-30 days to get complete.

Bone Marrow Transplant Recovery depends upon a number of factors such as

  • Initial Bone Marrow Condition
  • Chemotherapy and Radiations
  • Donor Match
  • Where the Transplant is performed

Observations and Suggestions for Parents

After being discharged from the hospital, it is vital to have follow-up care in outpatient follow-up since the risk of infection and other consequences remain. Even though the likelihood of relapse is lower with transplantation than with chemotherapy, it is still possible for relapse to occur. The majority of relapses happen within a few years after receiving a transplant.

Bone Marrow Transplant in India

India has numerous options for Bone Marrow Transplant Surgery where the Hospital standards and facilities are premium and at par with any other global medical and health institutes. Here are some of the many hospitals which serve top-notch  Bone Marrow Transplant surgeries. They are not only cost-effective but also have some of the best doctors dealing in transplant surgeries on board. BLK Super Speciality Hospital is the biggest Bone marrow transplant centre in Asia.

What are the potential drawbacks or risks of receiving a bone marrow transplant?

Bone marrow transplant s have a very high success rate, and most children recover fully, but they are not without hazards. It may take a few weeks for the new stem cells to mature once they have been infused into the circulation of the youngster who has sickle cell disease. It will take around two to three weeks for the new stem cells to mature in your child's bone marrow, during which time they will need to stay in the hospital.

There's a chance of infection or bleeding when the baby is in this state. Severe infections or bleeding are possible, perhaps fatal. The sickle cell illness might reappear if a transplant fails. You and your doctor should thoroughly discuss the potential for such dangers.

Bone Marrow Transplant FAQs

What occurs with a bone marrow transplant in a child?

When a donor stem cell is located, your kid undergoes extensive chemotherapy, radiation, or both to eradicate any remaining bone marrow. This makes place for the proliferation of new bone marrow cells. Ablative or myeloablative treatment describes this approach.

If a kid has a bone marrow transplant , how long will they stay in the hospital?

Depending on the kind of transplant your child requires, they might spend anywhere from three to eight weeks in the hospital. The drug your kid is taking to stimulate the production of new blood cells may have undesirable consequences for their body.

When is bone marrow transplantation most effective?

Several criteria are considered by physicians when choosing a bone marrow donor. The donor's age is a relevant consideration. Medical studies have indicated that transplants using cells from younger donors have a greater chance of the recipient surviving for a longer period. About 75 percent of the time, doctors ask for donors between 18 and 35.

Is it possible for a parent to provide bone marrow for a child?

Regarding BMT, whether or not a non-sibling relative may be employed as an HLA-matched donor is common. A parent and child have a one percent probability of being so closely matched that they may be employed in the same way as a matched sibling.