Some hematologic (blood-based) disorders, including leukemia, myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and certain lymphomas, are best treated by replacing your diseased blood and marrow system with that of a healthy donor.
The allogeneic transplant process begins with the search for a suitable donor. If you need a donor, Roswell Park’s Transplant Coordinator will coordinate the search.
After a donor has been identified, your bone marrow and the abnormal cells inside it are destroyed with chemotherapy and/or radiation.
In the next step, called the rescue/infusion, you receive either healthy marrow or blood stem cells provided by the donor. The cells are given intravenously, in a process very similar to a blood transfusion. The cells travel through your bloodstream to your bone marrow, where they can start producing healthy blood cells.
Roswell Park offers
- Unrelated donor BMT, which is a transplant using a donor who is not a blood relative of the patient.
- Haploidentical transplant, in which the donor (a blood relative) and patient are only partially matched. Almost everyone has at least one haploidentical donor. This improves the transplant options for people who don’t have a related donor or who have a poor (unrelated) donor match.
- Cord blood transplant, which uses cells taken from an umbilical cord or placenta after a baby is born. This makes transplant possible for patients who do not have a fully matched donor, either related or unrelated.
- Reduced-intensity conditioning, which can make transplant possible for eligible patients up to age 80.