Medical Surgery: The Bone Marrow Transplant

A bone marrow procedure is needed to replace damaged and destroyed bone marrow with new healthy bone marrow or stem cells. A bone marrow transplant is used to cure many diseases and different types of cancers. Bone marrow is the soft, fatty tissue inside the bone, and stem cells are immature cells inside this marrow that produce the body's blood cells. There are three types of bone marrow transplants that a patient may need to help restore healthy bone marrow. An autologous transplant describes a procedure where stem cells are removed from the actual patient in need of the transplant. An allogeneic transplant is the more common interpretation of the surgery, where stem cells are harvested from a donor and then given to the patient needing the procedure. Lastly, an umbilical cord blood transplant is a surgery exclusively for newborns, collecting blood from the umbilical cord shortly after birth and storing it in a freezer until needed for the transplant. A bone marrow transplant can replace diseased, non-functioning bone marrow and restore a new immune system that can fight cancers not killed through chemotherapy or radiation. Doctors perform these serious operations year-round and save the lives of patients of all ages across the globe. Take a look at this video showcasing a live bone marrow transplant by Dr. B S Rajput Stem Cell Transplant Surgeon at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, India. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0ZZAYx5LiY