Stem Cell Transplants – Nemours: Kids Health

Stem cells are cells in the body that have the potential to turn into anything, such as a skin cell, a liver cell, a brain cell, or a blood cell. Stem cells that turn into blood cells are called hematopoietic stem cells. These cells are capable of developing into the three types of blood cells:

Hematopoietic stem cells can be found in bone marrow (the spongy tissue inside bones), the bloodstream, or the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies.

A stem cell transplant (sometimes called a bone marrow transplant) can replenish a child's supply of healthy hematopoietic stem cells after they have been depleted. It's used to treat a wide range of diseases, including cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, and certain testicular or ovarian cancers; blood disorders; immune system diseases; and bone marrow syndromes.

Transplanted hematopoietic stem cells are put into the bloodstream through an intravenous (IV) line, much like a blood transfusion. Once in the body, they can produce healthy new blood and immune system cells.

The two main types of stem cell transplants are autologous and allogeneic. The type of transplant needed will depend on the child's specific medical condition and the availability of a matching donor.

This procedure may be done once or many times, depending on the need. Sometimes doctors will use extra-high doses of chemotherapy during treatment (to kill as many cancer cells as possible) if they know a patient will be getting a stem cell transplant soon after.

Unlike with an autologous transplant, there is a risk of a child's body rejecting the donated cells. Sometimes, despite the donor being a good match, the transplant simply may not take. Other times, the donor cells can begin to make immune cells that attack the recipient's body. This condition is called graft-versus-host disease, and can be quite serious. Fortunately, most cases are successfully treated with steroids and other medications.

Sometimes, an upside of graft-versus-host disease is that the newly transplanted cells recognize the body's cancer cells as different or foreign, and actually work to fight them.

Stem cell transplantation is a very complex process that may span several months. A team of doctors is usually involved in determining if a child is a candidate and, if so, whether the transplant will be autologous or allogeneic.

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Stem Cell Transplants - Nemours: Kids Health