Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant

Peripheral blood stem cell transplants are used to treat patients with an array of both cancerous and non-cancerous conditions ranging from acute myelogenous leukemia to Hodgkin’s disease, lymphoma, Sickle Cell anemia, tumors, and more. Stem cells are obtained from the patient’s own blood (autologous transplant) or from a “matching” donor (allogeneic transplant), filtered out using a special machine, and then used in a bone marrow transplant. Understanding that circulating (peripheral) blood contains the same blood-forming cells within bone marrow, this nonsurgical treatment option represents a relatively new breakthrough in medical capabilities and is only offered by specialized medical facilities and doctors nationwide. Patients who donate blood for a peripheral blood stem cell transplant receive injections several days prior to the procedure in order to stimulate their production of blood-forming cells. On the day of the donation procedure, blood is collected from one arm via needle and run through a special machine that separates and collects blood stem cells while returning the rest of the blood to the donor via a needle in their opposite arm. The entire donation procedure requires several hours and may be performed in more than one session.