Stem cell transplants should be done at a hospital where the staff has experience with the procedure and with managing the recovery phase.If your child has an immune disorder, has a blood disease or metabolic condition, or is fighting cancer, stem cell transplantation could be a chance at a cure and a return to a healthy life. If your doctor thinks you might benefit from a transplant, you should discuss what kind you will have, the possible side effects, and how long it may take for you to recover. Practical pointsĪ stem cell transplant is an intensive and complex treatment that can cause life-threatening side effects. This effect doesn’t happen with an autologous SCT. When the donor immune cells are infused into the body, they may recognize any remaining leukemia cells as being foreign to them and attack them. One problem with autologous transplants is that leukemia is a disease of the bone marrow and blood, so even after purging, there is a danger of giving the patient back leukemia cells with the stem cells.Īnother reason that allogeneic transplants are preferred is because of the graft-versus-leukemia effect. The stem cells are then put back (reinfused) into the patient’s blood after treatment.Īn autologous transplant may be an option for patients who can’t have an allogeneic transplant because they don’t have a matched donor, or for some other reason. A process called purging may be used in the lab to try to remove any leukemia cells in the samples. They are frozen and stored while the person gets treatment (high-dose chemotherapy and/or radiation). This is not a standard treatment for ALL, and is being studied to determine how useful it may be.Ī utologous transplant : A patient’s own stem cells are removed from their bone marrow or blood. This kind of SCT relies on the donor cells to kill the leukemia cells, instead of the chemo and radiation. This is known as a non-myeloablative or reduced-intensity transplant. One option that may help patients who can’t have an allogeneic transplant because of age or health issues is to use lower doses of chemo and radiation that don’t completely destroy the cells in their bone marrow. The use of allogeneic transplant is also limited by its side effects, which are often too severe for people who are older or who have other health problems. Some patients cannot have this kind of transplant because a matching donor isn’t available. If there are no siblings with a good match, the cells may come from an HLA-matched, unrelated donor – a stranger who has volunteered to donate their cells. The best donor is often a close relative, such as a brother or sister, if they have the same tissue type as the patient. Autologous stem cell transplant, in which the patient gets back their own cellsĪllogeneic transplant: A donor’s tissue type (also known as the HLA type) needs to closely match the patient’s tissue type to help prevent the risk of major problems with the transplant.This is the preferred type of transplant when treating ALL.

Allogeneic stem cell transplant, in which the stem cells come from someone else.The main types of stem cell transplants are: Most often, stem cells from the blood are used. After these treatments are finished, the patient gets an infusion (transplant) of blood-forming stem cells to restore their bone marrow.īlood-forming stem cells used for a transplant are obtained either from the blood, from the bone marrow, or from a baby's umbilical cord blood. This could lead to life-threatening infections, bleeding, and other problems due to low blood cell counts.Ī stem cell transplant (SCT) allows doctors to use higher doses of chemo (sometimes along with radiation) to kill the cancer cells. Even though higher doses of chemo drugs might be more effective, they can't be given because they could severely damage the bone marrow, which is where new blood cells are formed. Standard doses of chemotherapy (chemo) aren’t always able to cure acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). To learn about ALL in children, see Leukemia in Children. ( Note: This information is about treating acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in adults.

Leukemia stem cell transplant