Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT)

Why needed?

Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) is one of the most advanced treatments from modern medicine. A bone marrow transplant, or BMT, is a specialized therapy for certain cancers or diseases. It involves filtering and reintroducing healthy stem cells from the bone marrow to the patient, replacing their unhealthy cells. India offers relatively cost effective, cheap and reliable bone marrow transplant than any other countries.

Bone marrow transplant has proven to be a successful treatment for various diseases including leukemias, lymphomas, aplastic anemia, immune deficiency disorders, and certain solid tumor cancers.

A bone marrow transplant is a powerful cure for diseases and cancer. When conventional treatments like chemotherapy or radiation risk damaging or destroying bone marrow stem cells, a transplant becomes a vital lifeline. It also offers hope for patients with ravaged bone marrow.

Different types of Bone Marrow Transplant

Autologous bone marrow transplant

The donor for the stem cell transplant is the patient themselves. Stem cells are obtained from the patient either through bone marrow harvest or apheresis, a process of collecting peripheral blood stem cells. These cells are then frozen and later reinfused back into the patient following intensive treatment. The term "rescue" is often used interchangeably with "transplant".

Allogeneic bone marrow transplant

The patient's genetic match, typically a sibling, can donate stem cells through either bone marrow harvest or apheresis. Other donors for allogeneic bone marrow transplants may include the following:

A parent. A haploid-identical match occurs when the donor is a parent and the genetic match is at least half identical to the recipient. These transplants are rare.
Unrelated bone marrow transplants (UBMT or MUD for matched unrelated donor). The genetically matched marrow or stem cells are from an unrelated donor. Unrelated donors are found through national bone marrow registries.

Umbilical cord blood transplant

Immediately after the birth of a baby, stem cells are harvested from the umbilical cord. These stem cells possess a remarkable ability to rapidly and effectively transform into mature and functional blood cells, surpassing the performance of stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of another individual. The collected stem cells undergo rigorous testing, typing, quantification, and are then cryopreserved until they are required for transplantation.

This is rare in context of Bangladesh as of now.