How are bone marrow stem cells or blood stem cells collected ?
Bone marrow stem cells are collected from either the patient or a donor depending on the type of transplant being done. The process of collecting these cells is called harvesting. Stem cells usually are found inside the bone marrow spaces of large bones, however, they can travel from one bone to the other by way of the blood system. Therefore, stem cells can be harvested from either the bone marrow or the blood. The procedure is performed in the operating room. The patient/donor can be given general anesthesia so he or she is not awake and won t feel anything during the procedure. The patient/donor may also select spinal anesthesia. Once in the operating room, the patient/donor is positioned on his or her stomach. The doctors place needles into the hip bone (pelvis) and pull out the marrow with syringes. The needles are placed through the skin three to five times over each hip bone. For each puncture in the skin there are many punctures into the bone. Once collected, the marrow is filt
Bone marrow stem cells are collected from either the patient or a donor depending on the type of transplant being done. The process of collecting these cells is called “harvesting.” Stem cells usually are found inside the bone marrow spaces of large bones, however, they can travel from one bone to the other by way of the blood system. Therefore, stem cells can be harvested from either the bone marrow or the blood.
Related Questions
- What are the advantages of using cord blood stem cells as opposed to stem cells collected from either the bone marrow or circulating blood?
- What is the difference between cord blood stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and bone marrow stem cells?
- How are bone marrow stem cells or blood stem cells collected ?
