Hematopoietic Stem Cells Come Fdrom Specific Places
Hematopoietic stem cells come from blood, bone marrow, and umbilical cord blood. When hematopoietic stem cells divide, they either become more hematopoietic stem cells, or as they age, become one of the three types of blood cells found in the human body. The three types of blood cells are white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. All three blood cell types serve a purpose. The white blood cells work to fight infections in the human body. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. Finally, platelets aid the blood in clotting.
Hematopoietic stem cells are mostly found in bone marrow. They also can be found in small amounts in the bloodstream. Stem cells found in the bloodstream are called peripheral blood stem cells, or PBSCs. Hematopoietic stem cells also exist in the blood found in umbilical cords. When a patient has a high number of stem cells destroyed because of chemotherapy or radiation, doctors can perform a transplant. They can perform a transplant using bone marrow or a transplant using peripheral blood stem cells. In both cases, the goal is to restore healthy stem cells in the patient. The healthy stem cells used in a transplant can come from various sources. Healthy stem cells from the recipient can be used in the transplant. If the recipient has a twin, the stem cells can come from that person. Often, the stem cells come from another family member, such as a mother, father, brother, or sister. Finally, if no other donor match can be located, a person who is not related to the recipient can be used. The good thing about these transplants is that they allow the patient to recover following intensive treatments with radiation and chemotherapy. When radiation and chemotherapy are used to destroy cancerous cells, they often kill bone marrow cells as well. The reason is that cancerous cells divide often, and cells that divide often are targeted by the cancer treatments. Bone marrow cells, though, also divide often, so they can be killed as well. Blood cells are created in the bone marrow, so having healthy bone marrow is essential. By performing a transplant, healthy cells help the recipient's bone marrow recover and again begin producing blood cells. Doctors have had great success over the years treating certain types of cancer with stem cells. Transplants are often used with patients who have lymphoma or leukemia. Leukemia is cancer that occurs in the white blood cells. These cancerous white blood cells can no longer fight infections the way that healthy white blood cells can. For that reason, the cancerous cells need to be destroyed, and then the patient's system needs to be repaired so healthy white blood cells are again produced. Huge strides are being made in curing diseases using hematopoietic stem cells. These amazing stem cells can help many people lead healthy lives who previously would have died. |