Autologous stem cell transplant

Overview

An autologous stem cell transplant uses healthy blood stem cells from a person's own body to replace bone marrow that's not working well. An autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) also is called an autologous bone marrow transplant and an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Using your own cells for stem cell transplant has some benefits over using stem cells from a donor. If you use stem cells from a donor, called an allogeneic stem cell transplant, the donor cells must be a close match to yours. That's not an issue with an autologous stem cell transplant because the cells come from you.

You may be able to have an autologous stem cell transplant if your body makes enough healthy bone marrow cells. After the stem cells are collected, the cells may be frozen and stored until needed.

Why it's done

Most often, people who have autologous stem cell transplants have had high doses of chemotherapy and radiation to cure their conditions. These treatments can damage the bone marrow. An autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) helps to restore the bone marrow by replacing damaged cells.

An autologous stem cell transplant can be used to treat more than 75 blood cancers and conditions. They include:

• Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Leukemia.
• Multiple myeloma.
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Plasma cell disorders.
• Sickle cell disease.

ASCT also treats some conditions in which the immune system attacks its own body, such as multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and lupus.

What you can expect

Undergoing an autologous stem cell transplant involves:

• Taking medicines to raise the number of stem cells in your blood. You get medicines that cause you to have more stem cells. The medicines also move the cells out of your bone marrow and into your blood. From there, it's easy to harvest them.

• Harvesting stem cells from your blood. To get your stem cells, you have a needle put into a vein in your arm to draw blood. A machine filters out the stem cells. The rest of your blood goes back to your body.

  Your stem cells are then frozen and stored for later use.

• Getting high doses of cancer treatment. This is called conditioning. During this process, you get high doses of chemotherapy, radiation therapy or both to kill your cancer cells. The treatments you have depend on your condition.

  The cancer treatments used during the conditioning process carry a risk of side effects. Talk with your healthcare professional about what to expect from your treatment.

• Getting an infusion of stem cells. Your stem cells go back into your bloodstream through a vein. This is called an infusion. From your blood, the cells travel to your bone marrow. There, they begin making new blood cells.

After your autologous stem cell transplant, you stay under close medical care. You meet with your care team often to watch for side effects and check your body's response to the transplant.

Clinical trials

Explore Mayo Clinic studies of tests and procedures to help prevent, detect, treat or manage conditions.