A bone marrow transplant is a cure for certain forms of cancer. For example, if you have leukaemia, multiple myeloma, or other kinds of lymphoma, getting bone marrow transplant. Doctors are now taking stem cell transplants to treat certain blood diseases. It is more common to call a stem cell transplant a bone marrow transplant because the stem cells were obtained from the bone marrow. Stem cells are normally collected from the blood today, instead of the bone marrow. They are now also called stem-cell transplants for this purpose.

Why is bone marrow transplant vital?

Blood cells are produced by a portion of the bones called "bone marrow." Marrow is the spongy, elastic tissue inside the bones, which includes cells, called stem cells "hematopoietic." These cells can transform into many other cell types. They will change into more cells in the bone marrow, or they can become any cell in the blood. Some cancers and other diseases hinder the normal development of the hematopoietic stem cells. A replacement of the stem cells gives you new stem cells. The new stem cells will create new, healthy cells in the blood.

There are many cases of bone marrow transplant operation in India every year and can help people with a variety of cancer (malignant) and non-cancer (benign) diseases, including:

• Acute leukaemia
• Adrenoleukodystrophy
• Aplastic anaemia
• Bone marrow deficiency syndromes
• Chronic leukaemia
• Hemoglobinopathies
• Immune defects
• Inborn metabolism errors
• Myelodysplastic multiple myeloma
• Neuroblastoma
• Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Plasma cell disorders
• POEMS syndrome
• Primary amyloidosis.

Types of Bone marrow transplant

Autologous transplantation

The word auto means self. Before you are given high-dose chemotherapy or radiation treatment, stem cells are separated from you. The stem cells are placed in a freezer. After treatments with heavy doses of chemotherapy or radiation, the stem cells are brought back into the body to form healthy blood cells. This is called transplant rescue.

Allogeneic transplantation

The word ‘allo’ means something different. Stem cells, called a donor, are derived from another human. Most of the time, donor genes would suit your genes, at least partly. Special checks are carried out to determine whether a donor is a good fit for you. Most definitely a brother or sister will be a good match. Often successful matches are between parents, kids, and other relatives. Donors that are not connected to you but still fit can be found via national registries of bone marrow. Often successful matches are between parents, kids, and other relatives. Donors that are not connected to you but still fit can be found via national registries of bone marrow.

Umbilical blood cord transplant.

This is an allogeneic form of transplant. Stem cells are separated straight after conception from the umbilical cord of a new-born baby. The stem cells are being frozen and processed before an operation requires them. Umbilical cord blood cells are very young, so there's less need to fit precisely. Regardless of the reduced number of stem cells, blood counts take a long time to recover.

A transplant of stem cells typically takes place after chemotherapy, and the radiation is complete. The cost of the transplant is high. There is a lot of bone marrow specialist in India who has performed a lot of successful transplants.