What is bone marrow transplant?
Bone marrow transplant (BMT) — also called stem cell transplant — replaces diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells. Used for: leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, severe aplastic anemia, some genetic disorders.
Types:
• Autologous: patient's own stem cells (collected before high-dose chemo, returned after). • Allogeneic: from a donor (matched sibling, matched unrelated, haploidentical, cord blood).
Process: pre-conditioning chemo/radiation (5–7 days), stem cell infusion, engraftment over 2–4 weeks (during which infection and bleeding risks are highest).
Hospitalization: 3–6 weeks typically.
For international care: highly specialized. Choose programs with dedicated BMT units and 100+ transplants/year. Cost ~$25–60k internationally vs $250k–500k US.
Close follow-up for graft-versus-host disease (in allogeneic transplants) and infection management is essential.
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