Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that affects people of all ages. It is passed from parents to children by genes. SCD causes irregular hemoglobin development in your body. Hemoglobin is a protein that is round and versatile in your red blood cells. They move through the small vessels of your blood and bring oxygen to all parts of your body. With sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells are poorly shaped, hard, and sticky. They get stuck inside and start clogging your blood vessels. This can lead to pain, infection, damage to organs, low blood count, stroke, and other serious health problems.
A known cure for sickle cell anemia is a blood or marrow transplant (BMT. Sickle cell anemia Bone marrow transplantation is a therapy that takes healthy blood-forming cells from a donor and replaces them with toxic cells through an intravenous) IV) Infusion Sometimes, this procedure is also called a stem cell transplant.
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What is bone marrow?
Bone marrow is a sponge-like tissue inside bones that acts as a “factory” and produces all of the body’s blood cells. Its stem cells produce red, white and platelet cells. People with sickle cell disease have stem cells in their bone marrow, which produce abnormal red cells that contain defective hemoglobin.
For a transplant to proceed, two essential requirements must be met.
The first is determining who is the right donor. A blood test decides who will be fastest
Second, after the selection of the best donor, both the donor and the patient will have pre-transplant procedures such as cardiac assessments, lung, kidney, etc.
An interview with a psychologist is also an essential part of the process.
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How does a patient get a bone marrow transplant?
A child with sickle cell anemia is initially treated with chemotherapy to destroy the unhealthy bone marrow to make room for healthy stem cells in the bone marrow. Then, through a vein, he receives healthy cells from the bone marrow (donated by a brother or sister), similar to a blood transfusion. They usually do not involve surgery.
What are the risks of bone marrow transplants?
Although most children do well with a bone marrow transplant, there are some risks involved.
Once new bone marrow stem cells are injected into the bloodstream of a child with sickle cell disease, it can take several weeks for the new stem cells to develop. Your child will stay in the hospital for about two to three weeks while new stem cells are developing in the bone marrow.
The baby is at risk of infection or bleeding during this period. Infection or bleeding can be serious and in rare cases can lead to death. In some cases, the transplant may fail, resulting in the return of sickle cell disease. Other risks are possible, and this should be discussed in detail with your doctor.