Bone Marrow Transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation is increasingly being performed for several hematologic, oncologic, metabolic and genetic disorders. The healthy bone marrow may be taken from patient (autograft) or it may be taken from a donor (homograft). Donated bone marrow must match the patient's tissue type. The donor may be a living realtive (usually a brother or a sister-allogeneic) or from an unrelated donor fund through the national marrow donor program which lists more than 700.000 potential donors. Donors are matched through HLA tissue typing.

Indication for bone marrow transplant include blood cell disorders, especially aplastic anemia, leukemia or lymphoma, as a part of aggressive cancer treatments (chemotherapy, radiation therapy), and many immunodeficiency syndromes. It may be useful in managing hereditary hemoglobinopathies and metaboliv storage diseases.