Haploidentical bone marrow transplant (BMT) in children

Verified by Dr. Vipin Khandelwal, Consultant Pediatric Hemato-Oncology, Apollo Cancer Centres, Navi Mumbai.

Haploidentical BMT, also known as haplo BMT, is a type of bone marrow transplant that uses stem cells from a donor who is only half-matched to the recipient. HaploBMT is a newer type of bone marrow transplant, but it has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially for children. This is because only 30% of patients have a full match donor. For the remaining 70% patients, alternative sources of stem cells are matched from an unrelated adult volunteer donor and haploidentical donor. Parents and siblings who are not fully matched can be haplo donors.

How is haploBMT performed?

• Preparing the recipient for the transplant: This involves chemotherapy and or radiation therapy to destroy the recipient’s bone marrow and make their immune system less active. Once the recipient is prepared, the donor stem cells are collected through apheresis, a procedure similar to donating platelets. The donor stem cells are then processed in the laboratory to remove any T cells, or they are infused directly in patients’ blood and after few days they receive some medicines to deplete T cells in body.
• Infusion of donor stem cells into the recipient’s bloodstream: The stem cells travel to the recipient’s bone marrow and begin to produce new blood cells. It typically takes a few weeks for the new blood cells to start working.

What are the benefits of haploBMT?

• It is easier to find a haploidentical donor than a full match donor. This is especially important for children from minority ethnic groups.
• Haplo BMT can be performed more quickly than a matched unrelated donor transplant. This is important for children with aggressive diseases, such as leukemia.

Who is a good candidate for haploBMT?

Haplo BMT is a good option for children who don’t have a fully matched related or unrelated donor. It is curative option for variety of blood disorders, including:

• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• Sickle cell anemia
• Thalassemia
• Aplastic anemia
• Primary immunodeficiency disease
• Myelodysplastic syndrome

Haploidentical BMT is a newer type of bone marrow transplant in children that is becoming increasingly popular for children. It is a safe and effective procedure that can be used to treat a variety of blood disorders.

Connect with our expert, Dr. Vipin Khandelwal, Consultant Pediatric Hemato-Oncology, Apollo Cancer Centres, Navi Mumbai to know more about Haploidentical Bone Marrow Transplant procedure.

Call 022 6280 6280 for an appointment.