transplantation is a therapy for
patients with the blood-borne cancers
multiple myeloma, which attacks
bone marrow, and lymphoma, which
attacks the lymphatic system. For
multiple myeloma patients, stem cell
transplantation can extend life and
improve its quality. For lymphoma
patients, it can be a cure. Scott &
White’s stem cell transplant program
sees about 14 patients a year, Dr. Cable
says, evenly split between multiple
myeloma and lymphoma cases.
Stem cell
transplantation process
Stem cell transplantation requires
that patients undergo high-dose
chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells
in the blood. However, the treatment
also kills all healthy bone marrow
cells. These cells must be collected in
advance, and are then used to rescue
the bone marrow by autologous adult
stem cell transplant (“autologous”
means the transplanted cells come from
the patient rather than from a donor).
Dr. Cable assures patients who are leery
of the term “stem cell”—he would
prefer to call them adult blood stem
cells—that the transplanted cells are
taken directly from the adult transplant
patient and are not the controversial
embryonic stem cells. The adult blood
stem cells are also known as human
progenitor cells and can differentiate to
form different kinds of cells.
Two weeks before the chemotherapy
treatment, the specialized nursing team
collects healthy stem cells from the
patient through the use of an apheresis
machine. The cells are processed,
preserved, and frozen in the stem cell
laboratory, and then returned to the
patient 48 hours after the chemotherapy
takes place. “It looks like a simple
blood transfusion, but these cells have a
homing mechanism,” says Ann Wilson,
MT(ASCP)SBB, who is the chief
laboratory technician and was critical
in the effort to prepare for FACT
accreditation. “They find their way
back into the bone marrow, and grow
back into normal blood,” she says.
A most special patient
Retired military judge Craig Carver,
age 67, is from Georgetown, Texas.
A 34-year veteran of the Marine Corps,
Mr. Carver was diagnosed with multiple
Apheresis: Harvesting stem cells from peripheral blood
Blood-forming
stem cells
Whole blood
is collected
from donor
Whole
blood in
Stem
cells out
Blood, minus stem cells,
is returned to donor
Resource: National Cancer Institute
sw.org | December 14 THE CATALYST
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