The bone marrow is a sponge-like and soft tissue that lies nestled inside our bones. It is rich in various living organisms, including stem cells. These are a type of blood cells that help to produce other blood cells. These healthy blood cells include RBC, WBC and also platelets. Platelets are useful after injury and bleeding. They help in rapid clotting of the blood so that blood loss is minimized. In a normal human being, there is adequate production of red blood cells and white blood cells. However, this is not the case for those people who have bone marrow disorders. People suffering from various types of leukemia often suffer from moderate to severe malfunctioning of the bone marrow. In such situations, the bone marrow does not produce adequate cells that are required for the body. This leads to various health complications including severe anemia and gradual takeover of the healthy cells by cancerous cells. While regular blood transfusion might be an option, it comes with its own share of problems and challenges. It leads accumulation of iron in the body and this could be difficult to handle. Hence, the best way forward could be a bone marrow transplant procedure.

What It Is All About?

This is a transplant whereby healthy cells and put inside the body and they replace the bone marrow that is damaged or diseased. The stem cells could be transplanted from your own body or from a donor who has matching blood groups and matching stem cells. When a patient is treated for cancer, one of the most effective and unavoidable treatment is high-dose chemotherapy. This works much better than standard dose because it helps to eliminate cancer cells rapidly. However, this also has a negative impact because it totally wipes out the bone marrow. Here again, the only option left is to go in for blood cancer bone marrow transplant and also manage the cancer cells simultaneously through high-dose chemotherapy.

What Types Of Cancers Require Bone Marrow Transplant

Leukemia or blood cancer is a general term and it encompasses many types of diseases under it. While some forms of blood cancer might be lethal with high rates of mortality, others can be managed more efficiently and easily. It also is found to be useful in treating lymphoma and this happens to be a type of cancer that impacts the lymph system and immune system. ALL or acute lymphocytic leukemia is another form of blood cancer where the bone marrow does not make the kind of cells that it is supposed to make. ALL is common amongst children, though some adults might also get it. Aplastic anemia is another form of blood cancer where the bone marrow is unable to make the desired quantity of blood cells. There are other forms of blood cancers that impact certain areas of the body such as chest, abdomen, neck and adrenal glands.

The Final Word

It is quite clear that there are many different situations and each situation might require a different approach and method of treatment. However, there is one common approach for all them and bone marrow could often decide the difference between death and life.

Contact US:

Gift of Life Marrow Registry
Address:  800 Yamato Rd suite 101  Boca Raton, FL
Phone: (800) 962-7769