Peripheral stem cell transplantation | |
---|---|
Specialty | hematology |
Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT), also called "Peripheral stem cell support",[1] is a method of replacing blood-forming stem cells. Stem cells can be destroyed through cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation, as well as any blood-related diseases, such as leukemia, lymphoma, neuroblastoma and multiple myeloma.[2] PBSCT is now a much more common procedure than its bone marrow harvest equivalent due to the ease and less invasive nature of the procedure.[3][4] Studies suggest that PBSCT has a better outcome in terms of the number of hematopoietic stem cell (CD34+ cells) yield.[5]
Immature hematopoietic stem cells in the circulating blood that are similar to those in the bone marrow are collected by apheresis from a donor (PBSC collection). The product is then administered intravenously to the patient after treatment. The administered hematopoietic stem cells then migrate to the recipient's bone marrow, through a process known as stem cell homing, where the transplanted cells override the previous bone marrow. This allows the bone marrow to recover, proliferate and continue producing healthy blood cells.[citation needed]
The transplantation may be autologous (an individual's own blood cells), allogeneic (blood cells donated by someone else with matching HLA), or syngeneic (blood cells donated by an identical twin). The apheresis procedure typically lasts for 4–6 hours, depending on the blood volume of the donor.[6]