Overview What is a stem cell transplant?

Healthcare providers use stem cell transplants to treat people who have life-threatening cancer or blood diseases caused by abnormal blood cells. A stem cell transplant helps your body replace those blood cells with healthy or normal blood cells. If you receive a stem cell transplant, your provider may use your own healthy stem cells or donor stem cells.

Your blood cells come from stem cells in your bone marrow. Your bone marrow constantly creates new stem cells that become blood cells. Stem cell transplants can involve stem cells taken from bone marrow or from blood. Providers sometimes refer to stem cell and bone marrow transplants as haematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT). This article focuses on stem cells taken from blood.

Healthcare providers use stem cells to replace unhealthy blood cells that cause conditions such as several types of leukemia, lymphoma and testicular cancer. They also use transplanted stem cells to treat several types of anemia. Some people who have multiple sclerosis may benefit by receiving healthy stem cells. Researchers are investigating ways to treat other autoimmune diseases with stem cell transplants.

Healthcare providers typically use stem cell transplants to treat life-threatening cancer or blood diseases. Unfortunately, not everyone who has those conditions can have the procedure. Here are factors providers take into consideration:

Recently data reported nearly 23,000 people had stem cell transplants in 2018.

To understand how stem cell transplants work, it may help to know more about stem cells and their role in your body:

Healthcare providers obtain stem cells from several sources:

If youre a candidate for a stem cell transplant, your healthcare provider will perform the following tests to confirm youre physically able to manage transplantation processes, including pre-treatment chemotherapy called conditioning and transplantation side effects:

Before your blood tests, your provider may place a central venous catheter (CVC) in one of the large veins in your upper chest. CVCs are tubes that serve as central lines that providers use to take blood and provide medication and fluids. CVCs eliminate repeated needle sticks to draw blood or insert intravenous tubes throughout the transplantation process.

Transplant conditioning is intensive chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy that kills cancer cells in your bone marrow. Conditioning also kills existing blood cells.

If youre receiving your own stem cells, your provider may give you medication to boost your stem cell production. Theyll do follow-up blood tests to check on stem cell production.

If youre receiving your own stem cells, your providers will take blood so they can remove healthy stem cells for transplant. . To do that, they connect veins in both of your arms to a cell separator machine. The machine pulls your blood from one arm, filters the blood and then returns it to through your other arm. This process doesnt hurt. Providers may need to take blood more than once to ensure they have enough stem cells to transplant. The actual transplantation involves receiving your stem cells via your CVC.

Just like someone receiving their own cells, youll receive healthy stem cells via your CVC.

Your new stem cells will need time to produce new blood cells. If you received donor stem cells, your transplanted stem cells will replace unhealthy stem cells and begin to build a new immune system. This process is engraftment.

Either way, you may need to stay in or close to the hospital for several months so your healthcare providers can support your recovery and monitor your progress. Heres what you can expect after your stem cell transplant:

Successful stem cell transplants may help people when previous treatments dont slow or eliminate certain cancers.

The greatest risk is that youll go through the procedure and your transplanted stem cells cant slow or eliminate your illness.

Allogenic and autologous stem cell transplants have different complications. Allogenic stem cell transplants can result in graft versus host disease. This happens when your immune system attacks new stem cells. Potential complications will vary based on your overall health, age and previous treatment. If youre considering a stem cell transplant, your healthcare provider will outline potential complications so you can weigh those risks against potential benefits.

It can take several weeks to several months to recover from a stem cell transplant. Your healthcare provider may recommend you stay in or near the hospital or transplant center for the first 100 days after your procedure.

Its difficult to calculate an overall success rate. That said, the most recent data show the highest number of stem cell transplants involved people with multiple myeloma or Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma who received autologous stem cell transplants. Here is information on three-year survival rates:

A successful stem cell transplant can change your life, curing your condition or slowing its growth. But its not an overnight transformation. It can take a year or more for you to recover. Here are some challenges and ways to overcome them:

You may have days when you feel exhausted and days when you feel fine. A hard day doesnt mean youre not doing well. It means you need to give yourself a break and take it easy.

Youll have regular follow-up appointments with your provider. But its important to remember your immune system likely will be weak for a year or so after your transplantation. Contact your provider right away if you develop any of the following symptoms:

A note from Cleveland Clinic

If youve been coping with cancer or a blood disease, a stem cell transplant can be a new lease on life. It can mean hope for a cure or remission when other treatments havent worked. But stem cell transplants come with demanding physical challenges and significant risks. Not everyone who has cancer or blood conditions is a candidate for a stem cell transplant. Unfortunately, not everyone who is a candidate but needs donor stem cells finds a donor. If youre considering a stem cell transplant, talk to your healthcare provider about potential risks and benefits. Theyll evaluate your situation, your options and potential outcomes.

Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 03/14/2022.

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Stem Cell Transplantation: What it Is, Process & Procedure