Side effects of a stem cell or bone marrow transplant

The main side effects of a stem cell or bone marrow transplant are caused by:

• chemotherapy

• targeted drugs if you have them

You might have extra side effects if you also have whole body radiotherapy as part of the treatment. Whole body radiotherapy is also called total body irradiation or TBI.

You may have fewer side effects if you have reduced intensity conditioning. But these can still be serious and difficult to cope with.

There are also side effects of having your transplant. For example, if you have a donor transplant there is a risk of developing a condition called graft versus host disease (GvHD).

Side effects are at their worst when you have just had chemotherapy and for a few weeks after. When your blood counts start to rise (engraftment) you will start to feel better. Let your team know if you have any side effects. They can do a lot to help you.

In the longer term, these treatments may cause infertility. This means it might be difficult to become pregnant or father a child in the future. Some people who have had a transplant do go on to have children, but this is still quite unusual.