Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant

Bone marrow transplants (BMT) and peripheral blood stem cell transplants (PBSCT) are procedures that restore stem cells destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. They help people regain strength as they recover or undergo further treatments.

Transplants using peripheral blood (the blood circulating throughout the body) and bone marrow can be either allogeneic, which is from a donor, or autologous, from the patient. They can be used to treat Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma, acute and chronic leukemia, aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and many other types of cancer.

Choose UMGCCC for Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Services

When you come to UMGCCC for a blood or bone marrow transplant, you receive care from a skilled transplant team. Our services include:

• A state-of-the-art transplant unit dedicated to stem cell transplants, with all the resources patients need in one place.
• A transplant nurse navigator to answer your questions and guide you through the entire treatment process
• A HEPA-filtered inpatient area designed to provide protection from infection in a setting that is comfortable for patients and their families
• On-site stem cell collection for patient and donor convenience
• Our sophisticated laboratory to test how well a potential donor’s tissue matches the patient

For more information, call 410-328-7904 to make an appointment.

Getting a Blood or Bone Marrow Transplant

We carefully evaluate each patient to ensure transplant is the best option. Doctors consider age, overall health, type of disease and disease stage. Your transplant team will thoroughly discuss all of the risks and benefits with you and your family.

The decision to use either bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells for the transplant depends on the disease and the patient’s health, among other factors.

• A bone marrow transplant takes about 5 percent of marrow from the donor's hip bone, then pools, processes and transfuses the stem cells into the patient.
• In a peripheral blood stem cell transplant, the donor is injected with a hormone for about 4 days to stimulate bone marrow to produce excess stem cells and release them into the blood circulating through the body. The donor’s blood is drawn and put into a special processing system that concentrates the stem cells before transfusing them into the patient.

A PBSCT generally provides more stem cells than a bone marrow transplant. It does come with a higher risk of a complication called chronic graft versus host disease.

Learn More About the Transplant Process

The transplant process is different depending on if you have a donor or use your own stem cells. Learn more about each procedure:

Make a Referral

Get in touch with us when you want to refer a patient to us, talk to one of our doctors or ask about a clinical trial.

Contact Us

To talk to us about getting help with a stem cell transplant or cellular therapy treatment, call 410-328-7904 to make an appointment.