Stem cells are a class of cell that can divide and develop into any one of the three main types of cells found in the blood. These include the red blood cells and the white blood cells. The White blood cells are responsible for good immune system as well as platelets.
These stem cells are found in the bone marrow and also in the peripheral blood wherein these stem cells are not very large in number. In the bone marrow these stem cells constitute only a small fraction (less than 1%) of all cells and an even smaller percentage of cells in the peripheral blood.
Stem cells are very important to the human body as without these stem cells the important and vital cell production would cease in the human body. Therefore, stem cells that are lost during high-dose chemotherapy need to be replenished with a stem cell transplant. This would therefore work towards restoring normal blood cell production in the human body.
Stem cell transplantation is a procedure that is used in conjunction with high-dose chemotherapy. This is because of the fact that most cases high-dose chemotherapy also destroys normal blood-producing stem cells in the bone marrow apart from killing the cancerous cells. This calls for an immediate replacement of the normal blood producing stem cells in order to restore blood cell production. This is done by stem cell transplantation.
Process of Stem Cell Transplantation
The first step towards the process of stem cell transplantation is the collection of stem cells from a patient or a donor. When a patient’s own stem cells are used, they are frozen and stored until needed to prevent them from denaturing which can render them useless. Stem cells can be collected from a donor when they are needed. The patient then receives high-dose chemotherapy and the stem cells are infused into the patient’s bloodstream as cell transplantation. The stem cells travel to the bone marrow and begin to produce new blood cells, replacing the normal cells lost during high-dose chemotherapy.
High-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation are typically performed following several cycles of conventional chemotherapy in patients who need this severe treatment. Induction therapy is performed first in order to reduce the tumor burden followed by a combination of chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation.
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