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Types of Blood and Marrow Transplants

As a pioneer in many types of blood and bone marrow transplants, MUSC Health is the definitive source of hope for many adult and pediatric patients battling Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma and other diseases. Learn about the various types of blood and marrow transplants we have to offer.

Allogeneic

Allogeneic blood or marrow transplant replaces damaged bone marrow with healthy donated marrow from a related or unrelated donor source. Full siblings have a 25% (1 in 4) chance of being a perfect match for a recipient. In some cases, no one in the family will be a perfect match for the patient. Unrelated donors from the National Marrow Donor Program's registry will be searched and may be a potential match for the patient. If a perfectly matched donor is not available, alternative transplant options may be considered. MUSC performs haploidentical (or half match) transplants with a family member donor and cord blood transplants.

Autologous

Autologous blood or marrow transplant uses some of the patient’s own stem cells which can be frozen and stored for later use. The cells are used to “rescue” the bone marrow after high dose chemotherapy or radiation is administered to treat the patient’s condition.

Syngeneic

Syngeneic blood or marrow transplant uses an identical twin's stem cells for the patient’s transplant.

Cord Blood

Cord blood from a sibling or an unrelated donor can be used but must also be human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched to improve the chances of a successful transplant. This type of transplant is usually most successful in patients who are small (typically children) due to the small amount of stem cells available in the cord.

Haploidentical

A haploidentical (or half-match) transplant uses marrow or stem cells from a related donor who is at least a half-match to the recipient. Since we receive half of our human leukocyte antigens (HLA) from our mother and half from our father, children and parents will be a haploidentical match to the patient.