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What are blood stem cell transplants?
American doctor E. Donnall Thomas did the first
successful bone marrow transplant to cure leukaemia.
New York, 1956
Blood stem cell transplantation has been performed for more than 50 years, with more than ONE
million blood stem cell transplants across the world playing an important role in the treatment of
bone marrow failures, blood cancers, blood disorders, metabolic diseases, immune deficiencies and
autoimmune diseases.
Why a blood stem cell transplant may be needed?
to treat and/or cure certain types of blood related disease, for example to:
replace diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow to treat/cure patients with e.g.
blood cancer.
replace non-functioning bone marrow with healthy functioning bone marrow in patients with e.g. acquired
bone marrow failure.
regenerate a healthy immune system in patients with e.g. immune deficiencies and autoimmune disease.
replace bone marrow with genetically healthy functioning bone marrow in patients with inherited blood
related diseases.
Blood stem cells (tissue stem cells) are responsible to
maintain the blood and immune system and can differentiate
into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
platelets are tiny cells that have the important job to
stop bleeding.
red blood cells deliver oxygen to all organs and
tissues and also remove carbon dioxide from your body,
transporting it to the lungs for you to exhale.
White blood cells are the cells of the immune system that
are involved in protecting the body against both infectious
disease and foreign invaders.
Red blood cells Platelets
Blood stem cells
Common myeloid progenitor Common lymphoid progenitor
Myeloblast Lymphoblast
Basophil Neutrophil T Lymphocyte B Lymphocyte Eosinophil Monocyte
White blood cells
