Raffles Cancer Centre is a leader in blood and bone marrow transplants. Our expert transplant team is comprised of haematologists with specific training in blood stem cell transplant, transplant coordinator, transplant nurses, dietitians, physiotherapists and additional health professionals who work together to care for patients and their families throughout the transplant process.
We offer an array of transplants: autologous transplants, allogeneic sibling and unrelated donor transplants, umbilical cord-blood transplants, syngeneic transplants and haploidentical transplants. The program works closely with both local and international bone marrow registries providing a greater chance to find a matched unrelated donor if the need arises.
In addition to treating patients with blood disorders, our transplant team has performed transplants on patients with non-malignant diseases such as aplastic anaemia and autoimmune diseases like lupus, multiple sclerosis and scleroderma. With innovative & close patient monitoring management, many haemato-oncology and BMT patients are treated as outpatients. Hence, hospital stay is only required when medically necessary.
What is bone marrow transplant?
A bone marrow transplant is a procedure to replace damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells. Bone marrow is the soft, spongy tissue inside large bones (for example, in the breastbone, pelvis, ribs, and spine) from which blood cells arise. Blood stem cells are immature cells in the bone marrow that produce three important types of blood cells:
- Red blood cells: Carry oxygen around the body
- White blood cells: Fight infection
- Platelets: Help stop bleeding
Bone marrow transplants can be an effective form of treatment for:
- Life-threatening blood cancers like leukaemia (cancer of the white blood cells)
- Diseases which result in bone marrow failure like aplastic anemia or myelodysplastic syndrome
- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system)
- Other immune system, genetic diseases or autoimmune diseases such as sickle cell anaemia, thalassaemia, amyloidosis, multiple sclerosis, scleroderma and lupus
A bone marrow transplant involves harvesting healthy stem cells from a person's bone marrow i.e. hip bone region or from the bloodstream, where peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) circulate. Another source of stem cells is blood from a newborn's umbilical cord.
Two main types of transplant
- Autologous transplant: A patient's own stem cells are filtered, collected, and then transplanted back into the patient.
- Allogeneic transplant: The stem cells are obtained from the donor. Siblings with the same parents are usually the most common donor. In the situation where the patient does not have a matched sibling, the transplant centre will work with the Bone Marrow Donor Program that is plugged into international registries worldwide to search for an unrelated, matched donor with the same or similar tissue type. This will help to reduce the chances of the bone marrow being rejected.
Five stages of a bone marrow transplant
- Physical examination: Assess the general fitness of the patient
- Harvesting: Obtain stem cells for use in the transplant
- Conditioning: Prepare patient’s body for the transplant
- Transplanting: Transplant stem cells
- Recovery period: Monitor patient for any complications or side effects
Preparing for a transplant
Having a bone marrow transplant can be an intensive and challenging experience. Many people take up to a year to fully recover from the procedure.
Bone marrow transplants are complicated procedures with significant risks. Thus, bone marrow transplants are usually only recommended if the benefits of a transplant are believed to outweigh the risks. An experienced transplant physician with a specialised team will oversee the procedure to select patients most likely to benefit from a transplant and work together to aim for the best outcomes for patients.
To find out more about this procedure you may watch a video here.
Make An Appointment
Make an appointment to consult an oncologist or haematologist. To make an appointment, select "Specialist Appointment". Under Specialist Appointment Details, select "Haematology", "Radiation Oncology", or "Oncology".
Make an enquiry. We will get back to you within 2 working days. You can reach us at 6311 2300.