Bone marrow transplant

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Bone marrow aspiration

Bone marrow from hip

Formed elements of blood

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• Advanced care directives
• Arranging medical leave from work
• Bank or financial statements
• Care of pets
• Household chores
• Insurance coverage
• Payment of bills
• Schedules and care for your children

You may need to find housing for yourself or your family near the hospital.

A bone marrow transplant is usually done in a hospital or medical center that specializes in such treatment. Most of the time, you will stay in a special bone marrow transplant unit in the center to limit your chance of getting an infection.

All or part of an autologous or allogeneic transplant can be done on an outpatient basis. This means you do not have to stay in the hospital or medical center.

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How long you stay in the hospital depends on how much chemotherapy or radiation you received, the type of transplant, and your medical center's procedures. While you are in the hospital, you will be isolated because of the increased risk of infection. The health care team will closely monitor your blood count and vital signs.

While you are in the hospital you may:

• Receive medications to prevent or treat infections, including antibiotics, antifungals, and antiviral drugs.
• Need many blood transfusions
• Be fed through a vein (IV) until you can eat by mouth and stomach side effects and mouth sores have gone away
• Be given medication to prevent graft-versus-host disease

How well you do after transplant greatly depends on:

• The type of bone marrow transplant
• How well the donor’s cells matched yours
• What type of cancer or illness you have
• Your age and overall health
• The type of chemotherapy or radiation therapy you had before your transplant
• Any complications
• Your genes

A bone marrow transplant may completely or partially cure your illness. If the transplant is a success, you can go back to most of your normal activities as soon as you feel well enough. Most times it takes up to 1 year to recover fully.

Complications or failure of the bone marrow transplant can lead to death.

Review Date: 03/17/2011
Reviewed By: Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).