Trasplantation Stem Cells Peer-review Journals

Stem cell transplantation may be a generic term covering several different techniques. For allogeneic transplants, hemopoietic stem cells are taken from the bone marrow, peripheral blood, or duct blood of a healthy donor matched for HLA type, who could also be a family member or an unrelated volunteer. For autologous transplants, stem cells are taken from patients' own bone marrow or peripheral blood. A procedure during which a patient receives healthy stem cells (blood-forming cells) to exchange their own stem cells that are destroyed by treatment with radiation or high doses of chemotherapy. The healthy stem cells may come from the blood or bone marrow of the patient or from a related or unrelated donor. A somatic cell transplant could also be autologous (using a patient’s own stem cells that were collected and saved before treatment), allogeneic (using stem cells from a related or unrelated donor), syngeneic (using stem cells donated by a uniform twin), or cord blood. Our review is based on current hematologic textbooks, review articles in major hematologic journals, and information from recent meetings of learned societies such as the American Society of Hematology and the European Bone Marrow Transplant Society. This review reflects our perspectives and is not meant to cover every likely use or possible advance in this rapidly expanding field.