The Hutchinson Center uses the Hickman catheter, named after Dr. Robert Hickman who invented the catheter. This catheter stays in place throughout the entire treatment period. This conditioning is primarily to destroy cancer cells. Marrow is a soft-tissue organ and will be destroyed by the conditioning treatment. For patients with marrow-involved diseases such as leukemia this is a primary goal, not the case for patients with other diseases.
Conditioning regimens vary according to the patient's disease and medical condition.
On transplant day, the cells are infused through the catheter. These cells travel through the blood system and move into the bones where the immature cells grow into functioning cells. It will take several weeks for new cells to begin developing. During this time the patient will have a highly depressed immune system. The recovery period varies from patient to patient.