Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplant Program
Our Comprehensive Services
Our program offers a full range of comprehensive care and services including:
- Consultation, confirmation of diagnosis, and review of therapeutic options;
- Access to conventional and innovative treatments and clinical trials;
- Complete donor services including coordination of stem cell collection, psychosocial support, and long-term follow-up care;
- Complete on-site transfusion and blood bank capabilities;
- New England's only state-of-the-art cell manipulation core facility for processing hematopoietic stem cells for transplant, generating modified tumor cells as cancer vaccines, and preparing immune cell populations for adoptive therapy;
- Psychosocial evaluation and support;
- Radiation oncology services; and
- Communication with patient's local hematologist/oncologist throughout treatment and post-transplant care, including collaboration for follow-up care closer to home.
Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplant Procedure
When a patient undergoes a blood stem cell transplant, doctors replace his or her bone marrow with healthy new blood stem cells from a volunteer bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell donor. Here's a brief overview of what happens:
- The patient is given chemotherapy and/or radiation to kill the diseased cells. This treatment also destroys the patient's bone marrow/blood stem cells.
- He or she receives the new, healthy stem cells (in a process similar to a blood transfusion) to replace the destroyed cells.
- The transplanted cells begin to grow and produce healthy red and white blood cells and platelets.
- The process of growing new blood cells takes three to four weeks. During that time, the patient stays in the hospital so that doctors can monitor the patient's progress.
A Patient's View
"The path is harder than anyone can prepare you for but it is also more empowering and amazing to see what you can accomplish. I felt awful for awhile, but now when I wake up and feel good, I have a whole new appreciation of what life means."
- Allogeneic stem cell transplant patient
