The Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation program at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute provides advanced treatment options for blood cancers. If you have leukemia, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and require this advanced care, we’re here for you.
Having and recovering from a blood or bone marrow transplant can be a long, sometimes difficult, process that requires ongoing medical care. But in some cases, a transplant can put your cancer into remission and allow you to get back to most normal activities with a good quality of life.
What is a bone marrow transplant?
Bone marrow is the tissue inside your bones that produces red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. If you have a blood disorder, a bone marrow transplant, also known as a stem cell transplant, can be used to replace your damaged blood cells with healthy, new blood-forming stem cells.
Today, bone marrow transplants are more commonly referred to as stem cell transplants. The new name more accurately represents the collection process, which typically includes obtaining stem cells from blood, and occasionally, bone marrow. Obtaining stem cells from the blood is typically not painful. However, obtaining them from bone marrow can be. You receive general anesthesia, so you experience no discomfort.
Conditions We Treat with Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation
A stem cell transplant can be an effective treatment for blood cancers and some genetic conditions. The procedure is used to replace diseased or damaged stem cells, often after chemotherapy or radiation, with healthy cells. The new stem cells form a new immune system to help attack your cancer cells head-on.
Stem cell transplants can treat:
Hodgkin lymphoma — Cancer that affects your lymphatic system
Leukemia — Cancer that affects the blood-forming cells found in bone marrow
Multiple myeloma — Cancer that affects the white blood cells that produce antibodies, protective proteins that help rid the body of dangerous substances
Myelodysplastic syndrome — cancer that prevents the production of healthy blood cells
Myeloproliferative diseases — slow-growing cancer that causes a high number of abnormal blood cells
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma — cancer that damages your white blood cells and attacks your immune system
Sickle cell anemia — a mutation that produces crescent-shaped red blood cells that clog small blood vessels and die early, resulting in a constant shortage of the cells
Types of Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation
There are two main types of stem cell transplants: autologous and allogeneic. Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute offers both.
Autologous transplants
An autologous transplant uses your own stem cells to treat your blood disorder. We offer both inpatient and outpatient services using this approach.
During a process that’s similar to giving blood, we collect stem cells from your blood for several days and freeze them for storage. Then, physicians give you a high dose of chemotherapy or radiation to kill your cancer cells. The procedure also eliminates any blood-producing cells present in your bone marrow. To replace the blood-producing cells, physicians thaw the stem cells collected earlier and reinfuse them into your body. There, the stem cells make new red and white blood cells and platelets.
Outpatient care lets you remain at home or in an alternate location of your choice during certain portions of your treatment. The Hilton Miami-Dadeland Hotel offers convenient on-campus accommodations. To participate in an outpatient setting, you must live or stay within 40 minutes of Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute and return for different components of care for several weeks after your transplant. The outpatient option trims days off your hospital stay. It also lets you remain in a non-clinical environment that doesn’t put additional stress on your recovering immune system.
Allogeneic transplants
Allogeneic transplants use new stem cells that come from a donor. Your donor can be a family member, or someone not related to you. They’re simply required to have a genetic makeup similar to yours.
The procedure starts with chemotherapy, radiation or both, prior to your transplant. The treatment kills cancer cells and prevents your immune system from rejecting the new stem cells when they’re transplanted. In a process that resembles a blood transfusion, the donor cells are then infused into your bloodstream. They make their way to your bone marrow, where they begin the process of creating new, healthy cells.
Allogeneic transplants are inpatient procedures. You should expect to stay in the hospital for two to four weeks after your transplant. During this period, we take special care to protect you from infection. Visitors and healthcare providers wear protective masks, gowns and gloves. To prevent the spread of germs and bacteria, flowers, plants and fresh fruits are prohibited in the area.
Before you get donor cells, specialists purify the cells in a lab and deplete the cells of T-lymphocytes. T-lymphocytes are white blood cells that may recognize your healthy tissues as a threat and attack them, a condition known as graft versus host disease. We carefully assess you to determine if you’re a good candidate for the transplant.
This type of stem cell transplant offers several benefits, including:
Better quality of life after your transplant
Improved recovery speed
No need for drugs that suppress your immune system
Reduced risk of graft-versus-host disease
Choose Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute
At Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute, our expertise is unmatched in the region. We are the only facility in Florida that offers T-cell depleted allogeneic stem cell transplants for patients with hematologic malignancies to reduce the risk of side effects. In addition, our outpatient autologous transplant program, which uses stem cells from your own bone marrow, reduces the amount of time you’ll spend in the hospital during treatment. You can get the treatment you need with minimal disruptions to your life.
Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute is the state’s only member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance. The Alliance is a unique partnership that fosters collaboration among cancer care providers and expands access to enhanced treatments, advanced clinical care and a wide range of clinical research trials.
Accreditation with Distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Accreditation Program
The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation in Practice Transition Programs reviewed your application March 25, 2024. The Commission is pleased to inform you that accreditation has been granted for four years, from March 25, 2024 to April 30, 2028.
Malignant Hematology/Bone Marrow Transplant Fellowship at Baptist Health of South Florida was awarded Accreditation with Distinction, the highest recognition awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Accreditation Program. The web directory of accredited programs will reflect this special designation.
Hematologic Malignancy Program
The hematologic malignancy specialists at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute have years of experience diagnosing and treating blood disorders and blood cancers. They use the latest research findings, technological advances and breakthrough treatment therapies to offer you the best possible care.
Meet the Team
Medical Oncologists
Hope Tower at Baptist Health Baptist Hospital
When you have an allogeneic stem cell transplant, you typically stay in the hospital for four to six weeks during treatment. Hope Tower, home to Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute’s inpatient bone marrow and immunotherapy programs, includes spacious rooms that are focused on keeping you safe and comfortable. The rooms are all private. They combine next-generation technology with modern comforts, including large bathrooms, microwaves, refrigerators, exercise space and room for family members to stay. Hope Tower also includes private rooms for those undergoing immunotherapy or treatment for other blood cancers.
We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our use of cookies. Please review our Privacy Policy to learn more.
If you’d like to complete this appointment request form later, we can save your responses for 48 hours so you can come back and finish your submission.
Prefer to talk to a member of our team? We’re here to help. Call 786-596-2000.
