There are a variety of treatments and procedures which may be performed at a bone marrow transplant center, including the harvesting and transplantation of bone marrow. Most centers are found within cancer treatment locations rather than in a stand-alone facility. In these cases, additional cancer treatments will also be taking place. These can include chemotherapy, radiation treatment, surgeries, and alternative therapies.
A location which acts solely as a bone marrow transplant center will likely have a team of professionals who screen donors, locate potential family members who may be a match for patients, harvest donor marrow, and transplant this healthy marrow into patients. Most times, a cancer center will take care of these tasks as well as other potential treatments.
In order for bone marrow to be transplanted, donors must come forward and offer to give their healthy marrow for patients who need it. Potential donors generally provide a tissue sample which is kept on file in a national registry. When a new patient requires a donation, his or her doctors check the registry for matches in tissue type. If a match is located, additional tests will be done to determine if the donor is the best possible match for that patient.
Once an official donor is found, he or she goes to a bone marrow transplant center to have his or her marrow harvested. This is done with a large needle which is inserted into the donor’s bone in order to remove some marrow. Most times, marrow is extracted from the pelvic bone. Most patients are put under general anesthesia, although some may be given a spinal block or epidural.
Patients are given bone marrow in a similar operation. This also generally takes place at a bone marrow transplant center or cancer treatment facility. Before receiving a transplant, cancer cells or other abnormal cells are typically destroyed using chemotherapy or radiation.
Other potential cancer treatments may also be used in a bone marrow transplant center. For instance, sometimes other blood cells may be transplanted. Many of these treatments are experimental, but some are being used for the treatment of some patients. Bone marrow transplant centers located within cancer treatment hospitals will also feature areas where additional treatments and surgeries take place.