Stem Cell Transplant

Well, this is the "big day"; it is also called "Day Zero"! We will now give you stem cells from your donor which will start to grow back a new bone marrow within the next 2-3 weeks. These frozen stem cells will be transported in liquid nitrogen from the Stem Cell Processing Unit to the Stem Cell Transplant Unit.

After verifying that the cells are indeed your donors cells, we will defrost each bag of cells separately.

The thawed stem cells will then be drawn up into a syringe.

Each syringe will be infused into your blood stream through your  catheter.

During this time, we watch very closely for side effects related to the cells and the preservative (DMSO) that they are stored in. In particular, we watch for changes in your blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen content of your blood. There is a chance that you could develop nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, shortness of breath, and severe hot flashes. We will  premedicate you before the transplant to prevent or at least minimize these side effects.

Once the stem cells are in the blood stream, they will then travel to your bone marrow where they will start to grow.

Click here to continue to the next step (post-transplant supportive care).