Transplantation Procedure

Harvesting

An important step in a blood or marrow stem cell transplant is called "harvesting." This is the procedure that we use to obtain the stem cells needed for your transplant. These cells may be harvested from you, a relative, an unrelated donor, or from an umbilical cord. There are two ways to harvest cells:

Bone Marrow Harvesting
During bone marrow harvesting, we remove a small portion of bone marrow during an outpatient procedure that is performed in an operating room at our Same Day Surgery Center. You or the donor will be given general or spinal anesthesia. The physician who is performing the harvest will use a syringe - the same size as the one used for your bone marrow aspirations and biopsies - to take bone marrow from your or the donor's hips and/or breastbone (sternum). The amount of marrow he/she will take depends on your weight and your particular illness. The donor's body will replace this marrow in about two weeks.

After the doctor has obtained the amount of marrow needed, you or the donor will stay in the recovery room for about one or two hours and then be discharged to go home.

The dressings placed over the sites where the marrow was taken are to prevent any bleeding. These dressings should be removed 24 hours after the procedure. Leaving them on longer may cause an infection under the bandage. You or the donor may find it easiest to remove the dressings in the shower when they are wet.

You or the marrow donor may feel some soreness at the sites where the marrow was taken after the anesthetic wears off. Your physician may prescribe pain medicine to take at home. You or the donor:
 

• MUST NOT take aspirin, products containing aspirin, or ibuprofen unless the doctor prescribes it. Warm soaks applied to the sites will help relieve the pain and stiffness. Walking, general movement, and warm showers will also help to relieve these symptoms.
• MUST NOT take a tub bath for two days after the procedure. Showering is permitted.
• MUST eat a well-balanced diet high in iron. Include six to eight glasses of fluid each day. Check with your doctor about taking vitamin supplements.
• MUST check with the doctor about returning to work.

You or the donor should call us if you/he/she:
 

• Notices bleeding from the harvest site(s)
• Notices redness or drainage at the harvest site(s)
• Develops chills and/or fever
• Develops a persistent cough

Blood Stem Cell Harvesting
Blood stem cell harvesting is an outpatient procedure to obtain stem cells for use in your transplant therapy. These cells can help you to recover from the effects of high-dose chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Blood stem cells grow into bone marrow and make blood.

To obtain the stem cells, doctors will place catheters (thin tubes) into your veins and collect blood into a leukapheresis machine. This process takes some elements of your blood that are needed for the transplant and then returns the rest of the blood to you.

During this procedure - which takes between two and four hours - you will be awake and will be able to watch television, eat, or chat with friends. The procedure is generally painless, although some people experience a temporary buzzing in their lips or they feel muscle cramps. When this session has been completed, you may go home. It may take from two to five collection sessions to obtain enough blood stem cells for a successful transplant.