A bone marrow transplant is a medical surgery in which damaged or destroyed bone marrow is replaced with healthy stem cells. Bone marrow is soft, fatty tissue inside the bones. It is responsible for creating red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The process of bone marrow transplantation involves seven steps. Whether you are having an Autologous transplant or an Allogeneic transplant, the steps are the same.
Steps involved in Bone Marrow Transplantation.
The process of bone marrow transplantation is the same as a blood transfusion. Autologous transplants use the patient’s own stem cells, retrieved and then processed in a laboratory. On the other hand, an allogenic transplant uses donor stem cells retrieved from a good match. Let’s have a look at these seven steps of bone marrow transplantation.
Step 1: Planning Ahead
When a patient is ready for the bone marrow transplant, he/she will have a pre-transplant evaluation. It includes consultations and a series of tests to get complete information about their overall health. Also, it helps determine the patient’s eligibility for a bone marrow transplant. After the doctor determines that you are an ideal candidate for a transplant, the process of insurance clearance starts. The patient has to be admitted to the hospital with a stay for about 3-4 weeks, depending on the recovery time.
Step 2: Hospital admission or outpatient Treatment
The hospital team decides if a patient needs to be hospitalized or needs treatment on an outpatient basis. The patient is expected to reach the hospital at least a day before the chemo or radiation treatment begins. If the treatment happens in an outpatient center, then it should be near the transplant center.
Step 3: Conditioning Treatment
Conditioning, also known as myeloablation or pre-transplant treatment, involves the use of high-dose of chemo or/and radiation therapy. It helps make room for transplanted stem cells, suppresses the immune system, and destroys damaged cells. Chemo is given in the central venous catheter or as a pill. In radiation therapy, the entire body is given total body radiation (TBI.) This initial step of treatment takes a couple of weeks to complete.
Step 4: Infusion of Stem Cells
After the conditioning step, patients need a couple of days to relax before infusing stem cells. These cells are given through the central venous catheter. The patient is awake during the process, and it doesn’t cause any pain. This is one of the most challenging phases of the bone marrow transplant. Even some people consider this as a second life or rebirth.
Step 5: Recovery After Infusion
The recovery stage usually starts after infusing stem cells. At that time, patients and their families wait for the cell to engraft, after which they start to multiply and make new blood cells. It often takes 2-6 weeks for the patient to see a steady return to normal blood counts. After the transplant, the patient has a low number of white blood cells, low blood cells, and platelets. But the patients may give antibiotics to keep them away from infections.
Step 6: Discharge from Hospital
The process of discharge starts weeks before your transplant. It begins when the medical team tells you about how to take care of your health after the transplant. For example-the precautions the patient has to take, ways to prepare for home, and more. Besides this, the transplant team guides patients on how to take care of themselves, activities they can do and can’t do, etc.
Step 7: Rehabilitation After Stem Cell Transplant
Patients have to take care of themselves even after they reach home after the bone marrow transplant in Turkey. They will still feel tired and require regular medication. During such times, a friend/family or caregiver support is crucial. The patients may also need to undergo daily or weekly tests along with platelet and blood transfusions, antibiotics, and other treatments during the initial day of rehab. It usually takes 6-12 months or sometimes even longer for blood counts to get normal.
Undoubtedly, for a successful bone marrow transplant in Turkey, it is vital to choose the best hospital and the expert doctors. If you are looking for the top-most bone marrow transplant hospitals, Lyfboat is your ultimate destination. Whether you are looking for information about hospitals, doctors, treatments, or costs, you can find everything at Lyboat.
To know more about IVF treatment and the best clinics. To read more about health related blogs click here.