Indications of Bone Marrow or Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Indications for Bone Marrow Transplantation

Bone marrow or Hematopoietic cell transplantation is used to treat various cancers and non cancerous conditions affecting blood and bone marrow.

Bone marrow transplantation/ Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is used to replace nonfunctional or abnormal bone marrow stem cells with functional ones. It is used to treat the following conditions:

Immunodeficiency disorders: Patients with immunodeficiency have reduced immunity and can be cured with hematopoietic stem cells from a normal donor. Conditions that have been treated with transplantation include severe combined immunodeficiency, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome and Chediak-Higashi syndrome.

Aplastic Anemia: Aplastic anemia is a condition where the bone marrow fails to produce red blood cells, thus resulting in a decline in hemoglobin levels. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation helps to increase the red blood cell counts.

Hemoglobinopathies: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has also been used as a cure to treat patients with abnormal hemoglobin like thalessemia and sickle cell anemia.

Other blood disorders present from birth: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can cure a number of rare blood disorders present from birth like Kostmann's syndrome, chronic granulomatous disease, leucocyte adhesion deficiency and Blackfan-Diamond anemia.

Blood and Bone marrow cancers: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is used in the treatment of leukemias, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and myelodysplasia.

Other cancers: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an option for patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy that could potentially destroy the bone marrow.

References:

1. Harrison�s Principles of Internal Medicine 17^th edition
   
2. Czechowicz A and Weissman I. Purified Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation - The Next Generation of Blood and Immune Replacement. Immunol Allergy Clin North Am. 2010; 30(2): 159�171.