Your transplant normally takes place the day after the conditioning therapy has finished. It can take one day, 10 days, or sometimes even longer depending on your treatment. You’ll normally start your conditioning therapy the day you go into hospital. Conditioning therapyīefore your stem cell transplant, your bone marrow and immune system need to be treated and prepared for the new cells. Your stem cells are then frozen and stored, to be used on the day of your transplant. Sometimes your transplant team may need to collect stem cells directly from your bone marrow during a small operation, but this is much less common. You’ll be connected to a machine which takes blood from one arm, removes the stem cells and returns your blood to the other arm. Stem cells are normally collected in a process called peripheral blood stem cell collection (PBSC). This timing can vary and will depend on your particular situation. You will go to hospital to have your own stem cells collected weeks or months before your transplant day. If you have blood cancer, for example, the chemotherapy will get your condition into ‘remission’, which means there is no sign of cancer in your body. What will happen before the transplant?ĭepending on your disease or condition, you might have chemotherapy to prepare for the transplant weeks or months beforehand. Lucy had an autologous transplant to treat her non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021. She helped me to welcome the procedure rather than fear it. My counsellor (she’s brilliant) told me to treat this waiting period as a ‘practice recovery’. It had been nine weeks since my own stem cells had been collected from me. In these cases chemotherapy removes the faulty immune cells and the transplant allows your immune system to be ‘reset’. When you have an autoimmune disease your own cells have started to attack your body. Non-cancerous conditions that affect your immune system - In rare cases, where standard treatments have failed, severe autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease can be treated with an autologous transplant.Having an autologous transplant following treatment allows your immune system to recover.

Other cancers - Certain cancers such as germ cell tumours or sarcomaneed to be treated with doses of chemotherapy that are so strong it can destroy your immune system.

If you have myeloma or a type of lymphoma, your doctors may suggest an autologous transplant as a ‘consolidation treatment’ that could help stop your disease coming back after chemotherapy.

Blood cancer - If you have already had chemotherapy but your blood cancer has come back, your doctors may recommend an autologous transplant.Who can have an autologous transplant?Īn autologous transplant could be a treatment option for you if you have: If you are having an autologous transplant (also known as an ‘autograft’ or ‘auto’), doctors use your own stem cells that are collected and then put back into your body after you have had chemotherapy. These cells make their way to your bone marrow where they begin to grow and make healthy blood cells. For some people, a transplant offers hope of a potential cure.Ī bone marrow or stem cell transplant means that doctors or nurses will put healthy stem cells into your bloodstream. If you have a condition that affects your bone marrow or blood, then a stem cell transplant could be the best treatment option. You need healthy bone marrow and blood cells to live. Support for parents, family and friends.Charities that support you & your mental health.Taking control of your recovery & living well.Your mental health after a stem cell transplant.Late effects after a stem cell transplant.Looking after your mental health during your transplant.

Medical appointments and planning ahead.Coronavirus (COVID-19) and your stem cell transplant.Finding a donor for your stem cell transplant.What is a matched unrelated donor transplant?.Different types of stem cell transplant.Medical options for blood cancers and disorders.Genetic blood disorders and other inherited conditions.

Autologous stem cell transplant