Everything There Is to Know About Bone Marrow Transplant
Sports is a physically demanding activity that can result in different injuries. These injuries can incapacitate you, and at times injuries take too long to heal. The advances in modern medicine through bone marrow transplants have enabled many athletes to recover much faster.
Stem cell transplant, also known as bone marrow transplant, is used to replace destroyed or damaged bone marrow cells.
In the recent past, the stem cells were acquired from the bone marrow; therefore, it was known as a bone marrow transplant. Now, the stem cells can be gotten from the blood, and it is now referred to as stem cell transplants.
What Is Special About Stem cells?
The bone marrow is the soft tissue inside your bones that is responsible for the production of different cells. These are the basic cells of the bone marrow. They are different from all the other types of cells in your body.
Here is what makes stem cells unique:
- They can divide and replicate themselves.
- They can develop into different kinds of cells. The stem cells do not have a specific function in the body per se, but they develop into cells that do. For example, they can develop into a tendon or a cartilage cell.
This is the whole idea behind stem cell therapy that is applied in sports medicine. When the stem cell is placed in a specific environment, it can replace the damaged cell and aid in healing. If, for example, the stem cells can be placed close to your injured knee ligament and it can develop into healthy ligament cells.
Types of Marrow Transplants
There are three types of marrow transplants. The kind that will be used is dependent on why you need a transplant.
- Autologous transplants – These cells are collected from you; hence the use of the word auto, which means self. These stem cells are stored in a freezer. This transplant is not always available since it is dependent on the state of your bone marrow. The cells can only be harvested if you have healthy bone marrow.
- Allogeneic transplants – These are collected from a donor. A close relative is preferred because he or she can is a close genetic match. Although, you can find a close genetic match in the registry. This is the option that is used if your bone marrow is damaged. It involves the use of an immunosuppressant so as your immune system does not attack the new cells
- Umbilical cord blood transplant– this is a branch of allogeneic transplants since it involves a donor. These cells are collected from a neonate’s umbilical cord after birth.
What Do Stem Cells Treat?
There are a variety of sports injuries that these cells can be used to treat. These include damaged:
- Ligaments
- Tendons
- Cartilage
- Muscles
There are three main ways in which these stem cells are applied to the damaged area:
- Using sutures that have been coated with stem cells – Our surgeon will stitch together the torn ligament or a muscle using a suture that dissolves in the body.
- Surgery – Our surgeon will apply the cells directly to the damaged area.
- Injection – These cells are injected into the damaged ligament or tendon.
Other than sports injuries, stem cells are used to treat a variety of cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. The bone marrow transplant procedure is different since there is the use of chemotherapy or radiation, which kills all the cells in the marrow, including the healthy ones. Then the stem cells are infused in the blood through a transplant catheter.
How Well Does It Work?
The success of these procedures is dependent on several factors, including:
- How excellent your cells match the donor’s cells
- Your health and age
- The type of marrow transplant that has been used
- What kind of disease or damage is been treated
- Any complications that are peculiar to you
Are There Any Risks?
The risks involved in stem cell therapy are relatively low, primarily when used to treat sports injuries. Most of the problems that you might encounter may arise from poor matching. This leads to graft rejection.
Your body will fight these cells and can cause the treatment to be ineffective. This problem can be avoided if you look for the right practitioner. For this reason, it will be essential for you to contact the Green Sports Medicine clinic in Clovis, CA, and book an appointment.