Bone Marrow Transplantation (2024)

Stem cells are essential for blood cell production and are found in the bone marrow and in umbilical cord blood. During stem cell transplantation, your unhealthy blood cells or stem cells are destroyed using chemotherapy or radiation. They are replaced by healthy stem cells collected from your body or a healthy donor and transfused into your body, like a blood transfusion. Stem transplantation is not a surgical procedure. The infusion takes less than two hours, but the recovery takes several months.

The decision to use stem cells from your body or from a healthy donor depends in part on the disease being treated. If a healthy adult donor is not available, stem cells from umbilical cord blood can be used. Duke was one of the first transplant centers in the world to perform umbilical cord blood transplantation.

• Autologous stem cell transplantation uses your own stem cells.
• Allogeneic stem cell transplantation uses cells from a healthy related or unrelated donor.
• Syngeneic transplantation uses stem cells from an identical twin.

Your First Appointment
Before your first visit to the Duke Blood Cancer Center, you will be assigned a dedicated stem cell transplant doctor, who will review your health history. At your appointment, your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of the procedure and make treatment recommendations.

Meeting Your Transplant Team
If you decide to proceed with stem cell transplantation, you will meet your transplant coordinator who will facilitate your appointments and coordinate your care. They will work with your financial counselor to help you find nearby housing during your treatment and help you navigate any financial and insurance concerns. Other members of your transplant team include board-certified hematologists and medical oncologists, clinical pharmacists, specially trained nurses, dietitians, and social workers. They meet regularly to discuss your care so they can offer the best recommendations and treatment to meet your needs.

Plan Your Visit

919-684-8964

Recovery
Recovery from stem cell transplantation takes approximately one to three months. We are one of the only programs in North Carolina that allow you to receive most or all of your care as an outpatient. This lets you stay in the comfort of your own home or nearby temporary residence. A caregiver must be with you at all times when you are not in the hospital.

Support for You and Your Family
Before, during, and after your treatment, our cancer support services help you minimize the side effects of treatment and cope with the emotional and psychological effects of diagnosis and treatment.

Follow-Up Care
Once you complete your treatment, you will be discharged back to the care of your local doctor. Periodically you will undergo tests, either at Duke or with your doctor, to monitor your response to therapy and your major organ function.

Duke maintains a well-established program with a long history of success. Here's what you need to know to feel confident when choosing Duke as your transplant center.

We Offer Unique Cell Therapy Options for Transplant
Duke is one of the few centers in the U.S. qualified to provide Omisirge^®. This allogeneic (from a donor)modified umbilical cord blood–based product was recently approved by the FDA for stem cell transplantation. Our doctors were leaders of Omisirge^®clinical trials ​​​and are pleased to offer it to our patients.

We Perform More Transplants than Other Centers in Our Region
We've performed more than 6,000 transplants since 1984, and we performed the first cord blood transplant in 1993. Currently, about 260 stem cell transplants take place at Duke each year.

We Are FACT-Accredited and Nationally Recognized

• The Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy(FACT) conducts rigorous inspections of transplant programs and certifies programs that offer high-quality care.
• We are one of only a few National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers dedicated to improving patient outcomes.
• We are part of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers dedicated to improving patient care.

More Transplant Options for More People

• We offer stem cell transplantation to a diverse group of people -- including those who are older or lack a closely matched donor -- using less-intense chemotherapy regimens and careful selection of donor cells.
• We treat an array ofdisorders including non-cancerous diseases such as sickle cell disease, scleroderma, aggressive multiple sclerosis, and aplastic anemia.

Clinical Trial Access​
You may have access to the latest therapies through our innovative research programs andclinical trials, which test experimental therapies and provide new therapies for people with advanced or complex diseases.

The Duke Cancer Institute
The Duke Cancer Institute brings together the extensive resources of Duke University, Duke Health, and the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. We are committed to making innovative discoveries, developing new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, and delivering those therapies in a patient- and family-centric way.