Bone Marrow Transplantation

Question 1

What are bone marrow transplants historically used for?

Answer 1

Genetic diseases 
Leukemia
Severe aplastic anemia
Lymphomas
Multiple myeloma 
Immune deficiency disorders

Question 2

What is a primary goal of bone marrow transplantation?

Answer 2

To provide hematopoietic stem cells to replace recipient’s blood cells with healthy donor HSCs with successful migration of donor cells to the bone marrow

Question 3

Explain a bone marrow transplant procedure

Answer 3

Bone marrow is removed by needle aspiration and transferred by injection into bloodstream of recipient. The recipient’s diseased blood cells are eliminated by prior chemotherapy and irradiation treatment

Question 4

How does graft vs host disease manifest with a bone marrow transplant?

Answer 4

Mature donor leukocytes present in the bone marrow and attack the recipient’s tissues

Question 5

How can graft vs host disease be completely avoided with a bone marrow transplant?

Answer 5

1. saved umbilical cord blood for autologous BMT

2. umbilical cord blood for matched HLA type recipient