Being diagnosed with a blood cancer or other serious blood disease can leave you wondering who will provide the best care for your condition.
This can be especially true if your doctor discusses a blood or bone marrow transplant (BMT) as a potential treatment. From deciding whether a blood or marrow transplant is right for you, to undergoing chemotherapy and preparing for hospital stays and recovery time, you’ll want to make sure you have expert, compassionate partners in your transplant care.
With four decades of experience in stem cell transplants, the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at the OSUCCC – James in Columbus, Ohio, is a national leader and has been at the forefront of innovating how blood malignancies are managed. Since the first bone marrow transplant was performed at The James in 1984, we’ve successfully completed more than 6,000 blood and bone marrow transplants, making us the largest adult BMT program in Ohio.
What is a blood or bone marrow transplant?
Blood stem cell transplants or bone marrow transplants are procedures that restore or replace blood-making stem cells destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
These procedures can also restore bone marrow function damaged by the disease itself, and the transplant can regenerate a new immune system to fight cancer cells.
The stems cells or bone marrow can come from a donor (allogeneic transplant) or from your own body (autologous transplant).
What is bone marrow?
Bone marrow is the soft, spongy material found inside bones, and it’s where most blood-making cells reside. However, some blood-making cells called peripheral blood stem cells are found in the bloodstream, while other blood-making cells are in umbilical cord blood.
We can remove, or harvest, these cells from any of these locations, depending on your condition, so bone marrow transplants and peripheral blood stem cell transplants are similar.
It’s important to note that blood or marrow transplants are non-surgical, unlike organ transplants. The stem cells are most often administered like an infusion.
Even though the actual transplantation can be relatively simple, the process leading up to it and the recovery period can be quite complex, requiring the care and guidance of providers with extensive experience, like the ones at the OSUCCC – James.
Bone marrow: What does it do in our bodies?
Kristin Koenig, MD, explains what bone marrow does and why it’s important to our overall health.
Conditions treated by a blood or bone marrow transplant
BMTs typically treat blood cancers, but they can also successfully treat certain benign (non-cancerous) blood diseases. Some of the conditions treated in the BMT Program at the OSUCCC – James are:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
- Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
- Amyloidosis
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
- Chronic myeloid (myelogenous) leukemia
- Cutaneous lymphoma
- Non-malignant blood disorders
- Hairy cell leukemia
- HIV-associated lymphoma
- Hodgkin's lymphoma
- Multiple myeloma
- Myelodysplastic syndrome
- Myeloproliferative disorders, including myelofibrosis and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML)
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (B- and T-Cell)
- Sickle cell disease
The type of blood or bone marrow transplant (or other form of cellular therapy) you need will depend on your condition as well as other factors, such as the genetic makeup of the cancer and your overall health.
We discover new ways to use these cellular treatments regularly, so you’ll want a BMT expert to help determine what will be most successful for your unique case.
Why have your blood or bone marrow transplant at the OSUCCC – James?
Blood and bone marrow transplants are complex procedures that require comprehensive care as you navigate chemotherapy, finding a donor (if necessary), and potentially lengthy hospital stays with strict recovery protocols.
At the OSUCCC – James you’ll be in good hands. Highlights of our internationally recognized BMT program include:
- A longstanding tradition of excellence – The OSUCCC – James performed its first bone marrow transplant in 1984, and we’ve remained a leader in BMT care since. In 1989, we became a member of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), and we have been accredited by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy since 2003. In 2011, our program became one of 20 BMT Clinical Trials Network (CTN) Core Clinical Centers in the nation.
- Expert care not always found elsewhere – Our hematology–oncology experts and BMT specialists will help decide if a BMT is the best form of treatment for you. We’ll help determine the type of transplant you need, whether it can be done on an outpatient basis and what recovery will look like.
- Expansive services throughout the care journey – BMT care at the OSUCCC – James goes beyond simply offering a medical procedure. Our social workers and transplant coordinators will work with you to find a donor and develop a supportive care plan, including securing local housing during treatment, identifying a caregiver and figuring out financial aid, if needed. As an academic medical center, we also have access to any medical service you might need, including dieticians, physical therapists and mental health experts, to make your transplant and recovery easier.
- Constant innovation – BMT care is rapidly evolving, with options and recovery protocols constantly changing. Not only are the experts at the OSUCCC – James abreast of these latest advancements, but in many cases, we’re helping define these new innovations through our robust BMT clinical trials and research programs.
- The only outpatient BMT program in central Ohio – In 2024, we established the Outpatient Bone Marrow Transplant and CAR T-Cell Therapy Program, allowing people who meet certain criteria to receive their transplant care without a lengthy hospital stay. It’s the only outpatient BMT program in Columbus.