Bone Marrow Transplant Risks

Bone marrow is the sponge-like fatty tissue inside the bones. A bone marrow transplant gives healthy bone marrow stem cells to replace bone marrow stem cells that are not working properly or have been destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation. The National Library of Medicine confirms that all bone marrow transplants have risks and possible complications. Risks or complications can include infection, veno-occlusive disease, lack of engraftment and graft versus host disease.

Infections

• During the first three months after a transplant, you will be at risk for developing fungal, viral or bacterial infections. A common viral infection called cytomegalovirus (CMV), causes severe infections of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. CMV is difficult to treat and can also cause fatal pneumonia. For approximately one year following your transplant, your immune system may remain weak. It is also common for reactivation of certain viruses, like chicken pox and herpes simplex virus, to occur.

Veno-Occlusive Disease

• High doses of chemotherapy used during the transplant can cause veno-occlusive disease. Veno-occlusive disease is a complication that affects the kidneys and liver, making it difficult for them to function normally. Treatments for veno-occlusive disease include blood transfusions, medications, blood tests, monitoring of your kidney and liver function, or dialysis.

Lack of Engraftment

• After your bone marrow transplant, your blood count will be low. You will have less than normal amounts of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. The donated cells you receive should start to grow and produce new blood cells. Lack of engraftment is when the new stem cells fail to mature or develop after the bone marrow transplant.

Graft Versus Host Disease

• Graft versus host disease occurs after a bone marrow transplant and the new stem cells (graft) reject your body (the host), also commonly known as transplant rejection. Only identical twins have identical bone marrow types, so a donor's bone marrow is normally not a perfect match to the recipient's tissues. The donor's marrow often causes T-cells (white blood cells responsible for immune response) to recognize the recipient's body tissues as foreign. The newly transplanted bone marrow then attacks the transplant recipient's body.

Prognosis

• Bone marrow transplants will have three possible results: a complete cure of the illness being treated, a partial cure, or death. Death may occur if the transplant does not work to treat the illness or from complications of the bone marrow transplant. The overall outcome of a bone marrow transplant greatly depends on a number of things, but if the transplant works, it can take up to 12 months to fully recover.