Transplant of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells

Bone marrow transplantation or hematopoietic transplantation as it is called today is a highly specialized and expensive procedure that consists in infusing stem cells to a patient that has been previously prepared and thus replacing the diseased cells of the bone marrow.
producing blood by healthy cells. Although it is not exempt from possible risks, transplantation is the only option for many
diseases that are not cured by chemotherapy alone. It is used in different types of blood diseases (leukemias, lymphomas, myelomas,
myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms, among others). Hematopoietic progenitors, or stem cells, can be obtained directly from the bone marrow, from the peripheral blood or from the umbilical cord. Before undergoing a transplant, the patient needs to receive high doses of chemotherapy or radiotherapy to destroy the damaged cells in the bone marrow. In this way, the body’s immune system is also suppressed so that it does not reject the new stem cells after the transplant. In some cases, the
patient can donate their own bone marrow stem cells (autologous transplant) or they can be obtained from a family donor or not (allogeneic transplant) or umbilical cord. In other cases the cells can be obtained from a 50% compatible donor (half brother, parents, children, etc.) (haploidentical transplant).

During the time of transplantation, the patient remains in a sterile environment in an isolation room where all measures will be taken to prevent any infection or other complication, and all medications, and techniques required for the procedure are available.

For the compatibility study, a blood sample from the patient and the possible donor is sufficient.

Since 1985, in our institution, autologous and allogeneic transplants have been developed in pediatric patients and
adults, which has allowed the successful treatment of patients with malignant haemopathies of Cuba and many parts of the world.

The study of the HLA System by Biology techniques was recently introduced in our institution
Molecular, which allows a more reliable study to find more suitable donors in patients who need it. Currently investments are made with the objective of creating and implementing an umbilical cord bank to store hematopoietic cells and apply them to patients who do not have compatible family donors. For these patients, our service currently develops haploidentic transplantation.