Blood cells are responsible for immune protection and maintenance of every cell type in the body. This relentless and brutal work requires that blood cells, which have the greatest powers of self-renewal of any adult tissue.
The stem cells that form blood and immune cells are known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). And Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells. It may be autologous (the patient’s own stem cells are used) or allogeneic (the stem cells come from a donor).
The main parts of autologous transplant is Collecting your stem cells, Transplant treatment, Getting your stem cells back and Recovery, and for allogeneic transplant is Collecting stem cells from your donor, Transplant treatment, Getting the donor cells and Recovery.
A hematopoietic stem cell is a cell isolated from the blood or bone marrow that can renew itself, can differentiate to a variety of specialized cells, can mobilize out of the bone marrow into circulating blood, and can undergo programmed cell death, called apoptosis-a process by which cells that are unneeded self-destruct.
The classic sources of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are bone marrow, Peripheral Blood, Umbilical Cord Blood, Fetal Hematopoietic System, Embryonic Stem Cells and Embryonic Germ Cells, etc.
Hematopoietic Stem Cells are used in the treatments like Leukemia and Lymphoma, Inherited Blood Disorders, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Rescue in Cancer Chemotherapy, Graft-Versus-Tumor Treatment of Cancer, etc.
Major complications are veno-occlusive disease, mucositis, infections, graft-versus-host disease and the development of new malignancies.
Demonstrates that HSCT is an accepted therapy worldwide today, with different needs and priorities in different regions. Transplant activity is concentrated in countries with higher health care expenditures, higher GNI/capita and higher team density; hence, availability of resources, governmental support and, access to a transplant center determine regional transplant activity.