A transplant using a donor’s stem cells

When you have a transplant using another person’s stem cells, it is called an allogeneic transplant. It's more usual to have stem cells collected from the donor’s bloodstream. But some donors might have stem cells collected from their bone marrow. 

Some people might have stem cells from donated umbilical cord blood. But this is not as commonly used.

Read more about stem cells and how a transplant works

Stages of a donor transplant

There are different steps or stages of an allogeneic transplant:

• preparation

• finding a donor

• conditioning treatment

• stem cell collection from your donor

• you have your donor's stem cells

Preparation 

To prepare for your transplant, you have:

• various tests

• a central line put in

The central line can stay in your vein for many months. So you don't need to have needles in your hand or arm each time you have treatment. You can also have anti sickness medicines and antibiotics through your central line. And your nurses can take blood samples from your line.

As part of your preparation, you might have chemotherapy to get rid of as many cancer cells as possible.

Fertility

Your treatment could mean it is difficult to become pregnant or father a child in the future. Talk to your healthcare team if this is a concern for you. You might be able to store sperm or eggs before starting treatment.

Treatment can cause an early menopause in some women. Sometimes it is possible for women to freeze their eggs or embryos before cancer treatment. But it takes time to stimulate your ovaries to collect the eggs. Your doctor may not want you to delay starting cancer treatment.

Men may be able to bank sperm before starting any treatment.

Ask your doctor and nurse if you're not sure about anything. They can explain what your options are. 

Read more about stem cells and how a transplant works

Finding a donor

Ideally, your donated stem cells need to match your own. A brother or sister is most likely to be a close match.

Sometimes, if you don't have a brother or sister who is a match, you can have stem cells from a donor. This could be a donor who is not related to you but whose stem cells are similar to yours. This is called a matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplant.  

Some people might have stem cells that are not a perfect match (but partly match). This is called a mismatched transplant.

You have your donor’s stem cells

After you have your chemotherapy and other treatments you have your donor’s stem cells. You have these through your central line into your bloodstream.

Hospital stay

After conditioning treatment, you have low numbers of blood cells for some time. This means you are at risk of getting infections. You usually stay in hospital until:

• your blood cells have recovered enough to go home

• you no longer have any severe side effects 

This might take 4 or 5 weeks following a donor transplant, although this time can vary from one person to another. 

Isolation

You might have a single room in the hospital ward to help protect you from infection. Your medical team might call this being in isolation. 

While you are in isolation you can have visitors, but your nurses may suggest that you only have one or two each day. Your friends and relatives should not come to see you if they are not well. Or if they have been in contact with anyone with an infectious disease.

You might need to follow a special diet including foods that are unlikely to give you an infection. 

Coping with isolation

Staying in a single room in hospital can feel lonely. Some people find it frightening. It can help to talk to the nurses about your worries. They can reassure you. 

Taking in some of your personal things can make the room feel more homely. Books and photos can brighten it up. You can also take in a laptop, tablet, mobile and music. This can help the time to pass and you can keep in touch with friends and family.

Side effects of transplants

Side effects of a donor transplant include:

• increased risk of getting an infection 

• tiredness and lacking energy

• increased risk of bleeding

• sickness and diarrhoea

Read about the side effects of a stem cell or bone marrow transplant