Bone marrow transplantation (BMT)

Once doctors have exhausted the possibility of finding a related donor within the family then they will begin the search of a match on national registries such as the Anthony Nolan Registry and cord stem cell banks.  Searches can also be made worldwide through international registries.  Umbilical cord blood may be used, and haploidentical transplants

BMT works best when there is a 100% or 90% match of important markers on cells between the donor and the person having the BMT.  A brother or sister has a 25% chance of being a perfect match and are often used as donors.  A parent is usually only a 50% match so traditionally not always

Usually adults who are being considered for BMT have had chronic problems such as lung and gut disease over a long period of time. The accumulation of tissue damage from these chronic problems and infections often make BMT more difficult. Also because of the risks of BMT, the choices of whether a BMT is the

No over the past few years, more adults have started to be treated by BMT but the numbers are still low.  One recent major advance has been the development of what is known as ‘reduced-intensity conditioning’; this is a milder form of chemotherapy used to prepare the patient for the donor’s bone marrow. This has

This depends on the type of CVID, its genetic basis and the health problems, past and present that the person may have.  CVID is probably a collection of multiple genetic disorders with sufficient common features for them to be given the same umbrella diagnostic label.  From our current understanding, some immune deficiency is caused by

This all depends on the type of SCID and how tissue type compatible the donor cells are. For some children with SCID with a perfect tissue match from their brother or sister conditioning using chemotherapy may not be necessary at all if the transplant is undertaken early enough in life. 

Sometimes a BMT doesn’t “take” because the graft is rejected.  In that situation, it may be possible to consider doing another transplant. However, this is dependent on whether the original donor is suitable or whether another suitable donor can be found.  The medical condition of the patient considered for subsequent transplant has to be good