Bone Marrow Transplants
A bone marrow transplant is a way of transplanting bone marrow by using a high dose of chemotherapy. The process from the donor to the patient is referred to as a bone marrow harvest. Through much research doctors have said it helps cure cancer such as leukemia, myeloma, and lymphoma. At the Johns Hopkins Research Center doctors researched different ways that were effective to treat bone marrow failure disorders.
In this article doctors became interested in using radiation to kill off bad bone marrow. Their research was in a controlled setting but lung problems began to arise as a result of the radiation exposure. George Santos, a researcher under the Johns Hopkins Center, studied a different approach to treat diseased bone marrow. The treatment he researched was a chemotherapeutic cocktail drug; unlike the radiation treatment it did not result in any other medical complications.
His approach became widely accepted. Santos’s research helped pave the way for modern bone marrow transplants. Improvements in the marrow transplants would in turn save many lives for future patients. I believe this study from Johns Hopkins has revolutionized the former attempts to treat bone marrow failures.
Rachel Smith
Gupta, Sujata. “Human Stem Cells at Johns Hopkins: A forty Year History.” Johns Hopkins Medicine. 6 Oct. 2013. 6 Oct. 2013 <http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/stem_cell_research/cell_therapy/human_stem_cells_johns_hopkins.html>.
“Bone marrow transplants.” Cancer Research UK. 6 Oct. 2013. 6 Oct. 2013