In the last decade, autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) has emerged as an effective weapon against certain kinds of cancers and blood disorders particularly breast cancer and some lymphomas. Autologous means that a patient receives bone marrow or blood cells that have been collected from his/her own body.
This type of bone marrow transplant is really a way to deliver high dose chemotherapy. While effective against cancer, it has the side effect of destroying the bone marrow's ability to make new cells. A day or two after the chemotherapy is completed; stem cells previously collected from the patient and stored are returned to the patient's bloodstream. The stem cells naturally travel to the marrow spaces of the bone and begin to grow and produce the different blood cells. The advantage of the autologous bone marrow transplantation is that it eliminates the risk that a patient will reject the reinfused blood cells.
Medical Consultants patients receiving autologous bone marrow transplants are hospitalized at St. Luke's Medical Center, which established an ABMT program in 1990 and has been an experienced technical support staff for the procedure. More ABMTs have been performed at St. Luke's than other center in Wisconsin.
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