Roswell Park was among the first centers in the world to routinely offer bone marrow transplants (today more commonly performed as stem cell transplants). As Center of Excellence, we achieve survival rates among the highest in the nation.
Stem cells are produced by your bone marrow, the soft material inside your bones and mature into blood cells, depending on what your body needs at the time: red cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body; white cells, including plasma cells, which fight infection; and platelets, which cause your blood to clot after an injury. In multiple myeloma, the plasma cells grow out of control and become cancerous myeloma cells.
How does transplant work for multiple myeloma?
To treat your myeloma, high-dose chemotherapy may be needed to kill all the myeloma cells and achieve remission. High-dose chemotherapy is more effective than conventional chemotherapy (which is given in lower doses), but it damages the bone marrow, which produces new blood cells. To overcome that problem, your own stem cells can be collected in advance, stored in a freezer, and given back to you after the high-dose chemotherapy has destroyed most of the cancer cells in your system.
When you get your saved stem cells back through an infusion — called an autologous stem cell transplant — the stem cells settle into your bone marrow and begin to produce healthy new plasma cells.
Some patients may need stem cells from a donor called an allogenic transplant. The donor cells must be a good "donor match," which means that the donor's blood proteins closely match yours.
Roswell Park's Transplant & Cellular Therapy Center
Stem cell transplant is a complex medical procedure that requires highly specialized expertise. We provide transplants at our Transplant & Cellular Therapy Center, where our dedicated team provides the most advanced, comprehensive medical care during treatment and beyond to help our patients live longer, with a better quality of life.
Your Multiple Myeloma Team at Roswell Park will work closely with our transplant specialists to determine whether you might benefit from this option, now or in the future. Planning ahead ensures that everything will be in order if you should need a transplant. This is especially important in the event you need to find a stem cell or bone marrow donor (allogeneic stem cell transplantation).