How do they do stem cell transplants?

Answer 1

A transplant allows you to have much higher doses of chemotherapy than usual, which may help to improve the chances of curing some types of cancer, leukaemia or lymphoma, or prolonging a remission. Remission is where there is no sign of the cancer.
Very high doses of chemotherapy, sometimes with radiotherapy, are usually given over a few days. The high-dose treatment destroys the bone marrow and stem cells. So, after the high-dose treatment you will be given a drip (infusion) of either:
your own stem cells (autologous treatment)
or stem cells from a donor (allogeneic transplant).
Both of these procedures are often called transplants. But, strictly speaking, only situations where stem cells are taken from someone else are actually transplants. So, throughout this section, the term high-dose treatment with stem cell support is used, rather than autologous treatment.
High-dose treatment with stem cell support, and allogeneic transplants are different treatments, with different risks and possible side effects.

There are four main steps in the process of both high-dose treatment with stem cell support and allogeneic transplants. These are described briefly below and explained further throughout this section.

The first step is to reduce the leukaemia or cancer to as low a level as possible, using chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Ideally you should have no detectable cancer (this is known as being in remission) at the time of your high-dose treatment. This gives the best possible chance for the treament to work. However, it may also be done if there is only a small amount of cancer still present.

The second step is the collection of the stem cells from you or your donor. This is known as the harvest.

The third step is the high-dose treatment. The aim is to remove any remaining cancer cells from your body. You may be treated with chemotherapy alone. Sometimes radiotherapy is given as well. This intensive treatment will completely destroy all your normal bone marrow. This step is sometimes called the conditioning regimen and usually lasts only a few days. It can make you feel very ill and sick. You will be given anti-sickness (anti-emetic) drugs, which may also make you feel sleepy. These drugs are very effective, and can usually control feelings of sickness (nausea) and vomiting.

The fourth step is to give the stem cells to you through a drip. This is a bit like having a blood transfusion. It will be 2–4 weeks before the cells find their way through the bloodstream into the bone marrow and start to make new blood cells for you. You will need to be in hospital until the number of blood cells in your blood stream has gone back to a safe level.
While your level of healthy blood cells is low, you will need to have antibiotics. This is because you will have very little resistance to infection. You may be given injections of growth factors (G-CSF) to help your bone marrow to make new blood cells more quickly. You will also need to have blood and platelet transfusions. You may be looked after in a room on your own to protect you from infection. During this time you will need constant medical and nursing support.

Answer 2

When an embryo is about 8 cells big, they remove one of the cells. That cell can grow into any part of the body, and that's why they're so valuable. The other 7 cells can actually grow into a baby....but no baby that was grown from 7 cells is big enough yet to see if removing a cell during development has long-term effects or not.

Answer 3

they take a small amount of muscle out of your leg and grow stem cells in the lab and then transplant them back into your body and your body does not try to reject them .