Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Harvesting

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is it? Bone marrow or blood stem cell transplants are procedures to treat diseases such as cancer. Or, other diseases such as aplastic (a-pla-stik) anemia (uh-nee-mee-uh) or immune (im-yoon) deficiency diseases. Blood stem cell transplants are also called SCT. Stem cells live in the bone marrow which is the spongy tissue inside bones. Stem cells make all the different types of blood cells, such as red and white blood cells and platelets.

How does it work? Bone marrow and stem cells can be harvested from you or from an identical twin brother or sister. It can also be harvested from another family member or from a complete stranger. It is called an autologous (aw-tall-uh-gus) harvest if your own bone marrow or stem cells are harvested. Syngeneic (sin-juh-ney-ik) harvest is when the donor is an identical twin brother or sister. Allogeneic (ah-lo-juh-ney-ik) harvest is when the person donating is another family member or a stranger.

• To harvest stem cells, the person donating the stem cells will be connected to an apheresis (a-fer-e-sis) machine. An IV is put into a vein in the donor's arm or neck. Their blood goes through the IV into the apheresis machine. In this machine, the blood spins around to pull the stem cells out into a separate bag. The rest of the donor's blood is then put into the IV and given back to them. The donor is connected to the machine 3 to 4 hours a day for 1 to 7 days. The stem cells may then need to be purged (cleaned) to remove any damaged or destroyed stem cells.
  
  
• You will have many tests before you can donate your stem cells. These tests will tell caregivers if you are healthy enough to donate your stem cells. They will also tell caregivers if your stem cells will match the person who will get them (transplant).
  
  
• A person may decide to volunteer to donate stem cells to be saved and used in the future. The National Marrow Donor Program helps to decide if a person is able to do this. By donating your stem cells, you may help save another person's life. Also, you may decide to donate the umbilical cord blood of your baby after it is born. You can find out more about it by contacting:

• National Marrow Donor Program
  3001 Broadway Street NE, Suite 500
  Minneapolis, MN 55413-1753
  Phone: 1-800-627-7692
  Web Address: http://www.marrow.org
  

Support:

• Having a stem cell harvest can be very stressful. You and those close to you may feel scared, angry or sad. These feelings are normal. Talk to your caregivers, family, or friends about your feelings. Let them help you. Encourage those close to you to talk to your caregiver about how things are at home. Your caregiver can help your family better understand how to support a person having a stem cell harvest.
  
  
• You may also want to join a support group. This is a group of people who also have had a stem cell harvest. Ask your caregiver for the names and numbers of support groups in your town. Or, you can contact one of the following national organizations for more information.

• American Cancer Society
  Phone: 1-800-227-2345
  Web Address: http://www.cancer.org
  

• Blood and Marrow Transplant Information Network, BMT InfoNet
  2900 Skokie Valley Road, Suite 104
  Highland Park, IL 60035
  Phone: 1-888-597-7674
  Web Address: http://www.Bmtnews.org
  

• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Inc.
  1311 Mamaroneck Avenue
  White Plains, NY 10605
  Phone: 1-914-949-5213
  Phone: 1-800-955-4572
  Web Address: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org
  

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

Link to Page

Print Page

Email Page