Haematology (Blood Disorders)

Bone marrow/stem cell transplant is a treatment method for various blood disorders including Cancers, Sickle Cell Disease, Anaemias, Thalassemia and many others.  It involves harvesting stem cells from a matching donor and infusing them to a recipient (patient).  Chemotherapy along with radiation is usually administered before infusing the stem cells. Once the donor stem cells are accepted by the patient’s body, new blood cells are produced. Sometimes, the donor’s stem cells and recipient’s body can have a kind of reaction called Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) for which suppression of the immunity of the recipient is required. A recipient may require close to a hundred days after the transplant to recover during which close and careful monitoring is required.