How is bone marrow obtained for transplantation?
In general, the procedure for obtaining bone marrow, which is also called “harvesting,” is similar for all three types of BMTs (autologous, syngeneic, and allogeneic). The donor is given either general anesthesia, which puts the person to sleep during the procedure, or local anesthesia, which causes loss of feeling in the area of the body where the bone marrow will be removed. Usually, several small cuts (not requiring stitches) are made in the skin over the pelvic (hip) bone or, in rare cases, the sternum (breastbone). A large needle is inserted through the cuts and into the bone marrow to draw the marrow out of the bone. The process of obtaining the marrow takes about an hour. The harvested bone marrow is then processed to remove blood and bone fragments. Harvested bone marrow can be combined with a preservative and placed in a liquid nitrogen freezer to keep the stem cells alive until they are needed. This technique is known as cryopreservation. Stem cells may be cryopreserved for m
