Book Appt. Call Now
Understanding different types of Bone Marrow Transplant
  • Find a doctor
  • Send a query
  • Book an Appointment
  • Second Opinion

Send a Query

Book an Appointment

Ask for a Second Opinion

Home >> Blogs >> Understanding different types of Bone Marrow Transplant

Understanding different types of Bone Marrow Transplant


Bone Marrow Transplant is a life-saving procedure recommended for patients with various blood-related conditions. The procedure helps to facilitate the growth and production of new blood cells to make up for the replenished blood cells.. Over the years, the procedure has seen tremendous advancements and is now considered a gold standard treatment for many haematological illnesses. At present, there are 3 major types of bone marrow transplant procedures available. Want to know more about them? Continue reading this blog by the best BMT doctor in Gurugram.

What is a Bone Marrow Transplant?

A BMT or a bone marrow transplant is a procedure that can help to save the lives of people suffering from serious conditions of the blood and bone marrow, including cancer. The procedure may seem a little complex, but the idea behind it is very simple. It involves the infusion of healthy blood-forming cells into the bloodstream of a patient to aid in the production, growth and development of new blood cells. This doesn’t happen overnight and takes a couple of weeks or even months, for the patient’s blood count to get back to normal. Over the years, bone marrow transplant has proved to be a boon for patients suffering from conditions like

  • Aplastic anaemia
  • Leukaemia
  • Lymphoma
  • Myeloma
  • Weskott Aldrich syndrome
  • Congenital neutropenia
  • Sickle cell anaemia
  • Thalassemia


Bone Marrow Transplant procedure has also made it possible for patients to undergo procedures like chemotherapy and radiation therapy by addressing one of the major complications linked with these. Along with the unhealthy cells, the procedures can also destroy the healthy cells in the body, because their impact cannot be restricted. BMT procedure can help to make up for the loss of healthy cells in such cases. Bone marrow transplant in India is performed at all the leading hospitals.

2 major types of Bone Marrow Transplant

Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant -

It is a type of bone marrow transplant in which you do not need a donor. In this case, the recipient is the donor himself/herself. The procedure involves the use of bone marrow collected from the body of the patient. This is primarily done prior to a major procedure like chemotherapy or radiation therapy. As the patient’s own cells are used, the procedure comes with significant advantages. There are no chances of rejection or incompatibility.

Now, it is important to note that not every patient is eligible for an autologous bone marrow transplant and it can be considered only if the patient’s body is capable of producing healthy blood cells that can be collected, frozen, stored and reinfused in their body.

There are many conditions that can give rise to the need for chemotherapy or radiation therapy, like Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a variety of plasma cell disorders. An autologous bone marrow transplant is performed after thoroughly conditioning the patient’s body and destroying all the unhealthy or malignant cells.

The procedure:

  • Before the procedure, you will be required to take medication for increasing the production of blood-forming cells in your body. As this happens, the extra cells move into the bloodstream, from where they can be collected from the peripheral blood
  • A needle is used to collect blood directly from your veins and it is then passed through a special machine that separates the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned back to the patient’s body, whereas the blood-forming cells are collected and stored at a very low temperature. The process of filtering blood-forming cells is commonly referred to as apheresis.
  • This is followed by the process of conditioning, in which the patient is subjected to high-dose chemotherapy or radiation therapy depending on their treatment plan.
  • Once the patient’s body has been conditioned, the blood-forming cells are reintroduced into the bloodstream intravenously.


Allogenic bone marrow transplant -

It is a type of bone marrow transplant in which you need a donor, who can be a family member, a friend or even a stranger with identical HLA typing. The procedure is recommended for patients when their body is incapable of producing healthy blood cells. In this case, the bone marrow can be collected from the donor’s body in 3 different ways - either from their blood, their hip bone, or even a donated umbilical cord.

Allogenic bone marrow transplant can be used to treat patients suffering from a wide range of malignant and benign blood conditions like

  • Acute leukaemia
  • Adrenoleukodystrophy
  • Aplastic anaemia
  • Bone marrow failure
  • Chronic leukaemia
  • Hemoglobinopathies
  • Hodgkin's lymphoma
  • Immune deficiencies
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
  • Plasma cell disorders
  • POEMS syndrome
  • Primary amyloidosis


The procedure:

  • As the blood-forming cells are collected from the body of a donor, the recipient does not need to take any medication for boosting their production. The donor, however, may be required to take the same in case the cells are to be collected from the peripheral blood.
  • Depending on the approach that is used, doctors collect the blood-forming cells from the donor’s hip. Peripheral blood or a donated umbilical cord. once collected, these are stored at a very low temperature.
  • This is followed by the process of conditioning, as in the case of an autologous transplant. The recipient is subjected to high-dose chemotherapy or radiation therapy to destroy any diseased cell in the body
  • Once the patient’s body has been conditioned, the blood-forming cells are infused into their bloodstream intravenously.


If you want to know more about bone marrow transplant procedures, consult the best doctors in Gurugram today.

. ,

Book an Appointment

Send a Query