Key Points

• A blood and marrow stem cell transplant replaces a person's abnormal or faulty stem cells with healthy stem cells from another person (a donor).
• Stem cells are found in bone marrow—a sponge-like tissue inside the bones. Stem cells develop into red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
• Doctors use stem cell transplants to treat people whose bone marrow can't make enough healthy blood cells. These people may have certain types of cancer, severe blood diseases, or immune-deficiency diseases.
• In an autologous stem cell transplant, a person's own stem cells are collected and stored for use later on. In an allogenic stem cell transplant, a person gets stem cells from another person.
• To determine whether you need a stem cell transplant, your doctors will consider the type of disease you have and how serious it is, your age and overall health, and other treatment options.
• People having transplants are matched with donors through HLA tissue typing. A close match can improve the chances of a successful transplant. People who provide their own stem cells for use later don't need HLA matching.
• You also need other types of tests prior to the transplant to make sure you're healthy enough to have the procedure.
• To prepare your body for the transplant, doctors give high doses of chemotherapy and possibly radiation. This is done to destroy the stem cells in your bone marrow that aren't working properly and to suppress your body's immune system.
• During the transplant, you will get donated stem cells in a procedure that's like a blood transfusion. Once the new stem cells are in your body, they travel to your bone marrow and begin making new blood cells.
• You will need to stay in the hospital for weeks or months after the transplant—until your immune system recovers and doctors can be sure that the transplant was successful. During your time in the hospital, your doctors and nurses will pay special attention to side effects of the pretransplant chemotherapy and radiation. They also will watch for infection, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and graft failure.
• It takes 6 to 12 months to recover normal blood cell levels and immune function after a stem cell transplant. During this time, it's important to reduce your risk of infection, get plenty of rest, and follow your doctors' instructions about medicines and checkups.
• Bone marrow transplantation has serious risks and can have life-threatening complications. For some, however, a stem cell transplant is the best hope for a cure or a longer life.