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A 21-year-old member asked:

What is the difference between a bone marrow transplant and a stem cell transplant?

4 doctor answers7 doctors weighed in
Dr. Stephen Noga
Medical Oncology 36 years experience
Source of stem cells: Originally, scientists thought that only the stem cells from the bone marrow compartment could be used to make new bone marrow. After we learned that bone marrow stem cells circulate throughout the body and also that we can increase their numbers in the blood stream, we moved to obtaining these stem cells from blood the same way we obtain platelets which is less invasive than marrow harvest.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Keith Stockerl-Goldstein
Hematology and Oncology 32 years experience
Source of the cells: The terms are often used interchangeably. In a bone marrow transplant the cells are taken from the bone marrow. For a stem cell transplant the cells are taken from the blood.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez
Plastic Surgery 43 years experience
Stem cell transplant: A bone marrow transplant is a type of stem cell transplant.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Dr. Matthew Fero
Medical Oncology 33 years experience
HSC Transplant: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant includes both Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT) and Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC). The difference is whether the cells are collected directly from the donors bone marrow; or from the blood using an apheresis machine. These are the only types of stem cell transplant in regular practice. Researchers hope to develop stem cell transplants for other tissue types.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.

Similar questions

A 30-year-old member asked:

Are bone marrow transplant related to with stem cells?

1 doctor answer1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Sewa Legha
Medical Oncology 52 years experience
Yes it does: Stem cell transplant is a more accurate and the modern name for bone marrow transplant !
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
Last updated Jan 5, 2019

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