When time is appropriate, the bags are taken out of the freezers and are thawed and brought to body temperature and made ready for infusion. In Allogeneic BMT, the harvest procedure is performed on the day when the transplant has to be performed. Marrow is processed and brought to the patient's bedside and is infused intravenously as soon as possible. This refers to the treatment regimen used to eradicate the cancer cells. This treatment is offered prior to actual transfusion of marrow cells.
Most regimens use a combination of chemotherapy with or without radiation.
If radiation is part of the regimen, it is given following the chemotherapy. The length of this step depends on the drug combination and varies from 5-10 days. Following completion of the conditioning treatment, the marrow is given to the patients in form of an intravenous transfusion of the cells. Marrow cells once in the blood, will find their way to the patient's bone marrow where they will start growing and producing normal cells. Most patients will require Intravenous antibiotics, blood and platelet transfusion as well as Intravenous nutrition.