Bone marrow transplant, also known as hematopoietic stem cell transplant, is a medical procedure that can save the lives of many terminally ill people. However, like many medical treatments, it also has both benefits and risks, about which we talked to Dr. Vikas Dua, hematologist of Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram.
Benefits of bone marrow transplant
Dr. Vikas Dua said that one of the important benefits of bone marrow transplant is its ability to treat many diseases like leukemia, lymphoma and some genetic disorders. This process involves replacing damaged or diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells, allowing the body to produce normal blood cells. For patients with diseases affecting the bone marrow, this method gives them a chance to live a longer life.
Dangers of Bone Marrow Transplant
Although recovery from a bone marrow transplant is not without challenges, a major risk is graft versus host disease, a medical condition in which the transplanted cells attack the recipient tissue. This immune system response can range from mild to severe, affecting many organs and organ systems of the body. Managing GVED requires careful medical intervention and immunosuppressive medications, and it carries a number of risks.
Risk of infection also
There is also a risk of infection in bone marrow transplant, because in this procedure the immune system becomes weak, which means the patient increases the risk of diseases. Such risk is greater in the initial years of transplant, to avoid this, close monitoring and strict measures should be taken.
Side effects also possible
Apart from this, the biggest concern is that high doses of chemotherapy and radiation are given before transplant, due to which many side effects can occur which include vomiting, fatigue and bleeding. Even though these side effects last for some time, they affect the well-being of the patient and can extend the recovery period.
Positive aspects
If we talk about the positive side, long term treatment of many diseases can be done through bone marrow transplant, this improves the quality of life of the patient. The decision for this medical procedure is taken after a thorough examination of the patient and the overall health condition, the risks and benefits are also taken into consideration. Knowing these things, we can say that bone marrow transplant is a powerful medical intervention to save someone's life, although this path is full of challenges, in which there can be many types of risks.
(PC: Freepik)
