With recovery, 100 days after the transplant is considered a key milestone. That's when the greatest risks can be significantly reduced and stem cells have started to do their job. Around 50,000 transplants are performed each year, and the number is increasing by 10% to 20% each year. More than 20,000 people have lived five years or more after receiving a stem cell transplant.
GVHD occurs when donated stem cells (the “graft”) fail against healthy body tissues (the “host”). Stem cell transplantation may later affect parts of the body that produce hormones, such as the thyroid, pancreas, and sex glands. This is done to make room for transplanted stem cells, inhibit the immune system to reduce the chance of transplant rejection, and kill remaining cancer cells. Stem cell transplants are more common than bone marrow transplants because stem cells are easier to collect from the body.
This is because allogeneic transplantation is a more intensive procedure and uses donor stem cells instead of own stem cells. A trusted caregiver for a bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipient is critical to the recovery process. After treatment, the patient's healthy stem cells are thawed and reintroduced into the bloodstream to help replace blood cells destroyed during treatment. The stem cells used in transplants are found in bone marrow (hematopoietic stem cells) or in the blood (peripheral blood stem cells) and are responsible for restoring and renewing blood cells.
This phase includes high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, which can kill healthy cells in addition to cancer cells, so it's important for the doctor to collect healthy cells for transplant before treatment. However, many people experience this condition as they age, but it's more likely to occur after a stem cell transplant, especially if you took long-term steroids before the transplant or after the transplant to treat GvHD. Drugs are given to increase stem cell production and then stem cells are removed from the bloodstream or bone marrow. After undergoing a stem cell transplant, you may have access to a “late effects” clinic run by clinical nurse (CNS) specialists. Stem cell transplants have become important weapons in the fight against certain types of blood cancer, such as multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia.
During the transplant procedure, stem cells or bone marrow are introduced into the patient's bloodstream through a catheter. After your stem cell transplant, you'll have frequent checkups and tests until your new bone marrow works properly and there are no serious problems.
