Glossary

Haemoglobin Disorders

Hemoglobinopathies (Var Hb)

S, Beta-Thalassemia (Hb S / ßTh)

S, C Disease (Hb S / C)

Sickle Cell Anemia (Hb SS)

BMT Glossary - Dr. Pietro Sodani

Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT)
Type of blood and marrow transplant in which the stem cells are donated by a genetically matched donor (HLA matching) other than the patient. The donated cells can come from a related member or unrelated donor.

Blood Stem Cells
Cells found in the blood can grow into white blood cells, red blood cells or platelets. Also called hematopoietic stem cells.

Bone marrow
The soft, spongy tissue found in the cavities of the body's large bones, that contain stem cells used to make blood cells (white/red blood cells and platelets).

Bone Marrow Stem Cell Harvest
The procedure, which takes place in the operating room, of collecting stem cells from the bone marrow taken from the pelvic bone (hip area) of the donor, for use in a transplant.

Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT)
The transfusion of healthy bone marrow cells from the donor into a person after his own unhealthy bone marrow has been eliminated by high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation.

BMTU

Bone Marrow Transplant Unit

Class of patient's risk of
Prof. Lucarelli classifies patients into 3 classes based on the presence of risk factors: hepatomegaly (liver enlargement), liver fibrosis and iron chelation history. Each class has a different probability of cure.

Central or central venous catheter
A small soft flexible plastic tube inserted into a large vein to inject or remove fluids, drugs and blood products, without sticking a needle into the patient. Blood can also be drawn for laboratory tests. This is used in stem cell transplants.

Chemotherapy
Also known as "chemo". It is treatment with one or more anticancer drugs to try to stop or slow the growth of cancer cells. It is also used in bone marrow transplant patients without cancer to allow successful engraftment.

Chimerism
The state in which donor cells have durably engrafted in the recipient.
If 100% of the bone marrow and blood cells come from the donor, it is called full donor chimerism; otherwise, if some recipient's cells are also present, it is called mixed or partial chimerism.

Congenital Disorder
Any disorder present at birth.

Cooley's Anemia
Another name for thalassemia major.

Cord blood
The blood in the umbilical cord and the placenta of newborns containing blood stem cells.

Cord Blood Bank
An organization that helps collect and store umbilical cord blood for transplantation.

Cord blood transplant
A procedure where umbilical blood stem cells are used in a stem cell transplant.

Donor
A volunteer who donates his stem cells for a patient who needs a bone marrow transplant for thalassemia. It could be a related family member (parent, brother or sister) or an unrelated person.

Engraftment
The successful stage after bone marrow transplantation when the transplanted (donor) stem cells begin to grow and make blood cells in the patient's (recipient's) marrow cavities.

Erythrocytes
Red blood cells.

Graft
Infused or transplanted bone marrow and blood stem cells.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)
A condition that can develop after a bone marrow transplant in which the transplanted marrow cells (graft) attack the patient's (host's) tissues/organs. The skin, GI tract, liver and other organs can be affected. GVHD ranges from mild to serious and sometimes even life-threatening.

Haplocompatible
If the donor and recipient share half of their HLA antigens, they are halo compatible.
Children inherit half of their HLA antigens from their mother and a half from their father, and they are all halo compatible with their parents.

Harvesting
The collection of stem cells from bone marrow or peripheral blood.

Haematology
 A division of medicine that studies and treats diseases of the blood and blood-forming tissues and organs.

Haematologist
 A doctor who specializes in the diseases and disorders of the blood.

Hematocrit
It is the percentage of blood volume taken by the red blood cells. Also known as packed cell volume (PCV) or erythrocyte volume fraction (EVF).

Hematopoietic
Regarding the process of forming blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Another term for a bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

Hematopoietic stem cells
Blood-forming stem cells capable of producing all the components of blood. They mature into one of three types of blood cells: white blood cells, red blood cells or platelets.

Haemoglobin (Hgb)
The protein found in the red blood cells carries oxygen to the cells and tissues of the body.

Hemoglobinopathies
A disorder of the bone marrow cells that produce red blood cells. Two hemoglobinopathies for which a bone marrow transplant is commonly performed are thalassemia major and sickle cell disease.

HEPA filter
A High-Efficiency Particulate Aerosol filter found in the transplant rooms prevents germs from entering the room via the air system.

Hereditary
Traits that have passed from parents to their children.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)
The genetic "fingerprint" present in the proteins on the surface of the white blood cells make the individual's tissue unique, allowing the body to recognize self versus non-self, ie to help the body distinguish its own cells from invading or foreign cells.
It plays a critical role in transplantation, activating the body's immune system to respond to foreign organisms.
It defines the transplant tissue type, and the HLA A, B, C and DR proteins are important in matching patients and donors for a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) for thalassemia.

HLA typing test
A blood test of the tissue typing system, which allows identification of individual HLA A, B and DR proteins, used to identify compatible donors in a bone marrow transplant (BMT) for thalassemia.

HLA typing Laboratories
Laboratories that perform HLA typing tests on donor or recipient blood and cell samples.

Guest
The patient's body.

iliac Crest
The "hip bone" where large amounts of bone marrow is found.

Informed consent
A legal document that gives the doctor permission to perform the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). It is a hospital form, signed by the patient, which documents the understanding of medical procedures. All potential risks and benefits must be understood by the patient prior to signing.

Lucarelli protocol
The formal outline treatment plan, such as a description of what treatments the patient will receive and exactly when each treatment should be given.  

Matched Unrelated Transplant
Another type of allogeneic transplant where the stem cells are donated by someone other than a family member.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
A method of taking pictures of the body tissue using magnetic fields and radio waves.

Morbidity
Sickness, side effects and symptoms of treatment.

MUD
Matched Unrelated Donor

PICU
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Phlebotomy
Withdrawing blood from a vein (usually in the arm) for testing purposes.

Syngeneic transplant
A Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) in which the donor and the recipient are identical twins.

Stem cells
Stem cells (or hematopoietic cells) are the initial phase of all blood cells. They then divide and form the various cells that make up the blood (white blood cells, platelets) and the immune system. They are found in both the bone marrow and circulating blood.

Transfusion
The transfer from one individual to another of any product derived from blood cells.

Transplant Center
Hospital-based programs with experience, staff and facilities to perform Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT).

Typing Laboratory
A testing facility that performs HLA typing.

Unrelated Bone Marrow or Blood Stem Cell Transplant
A bone marrow or blood stem cell transplant where the donor is not related to the patient.

Volunteer Donor
A person who has agreed to donate marrow for a BMT.

White Blood Cells (Leukocytes)
Blood cells fight infection in the body. They are one of three main types of blood cells, together with red blood cells and platelets.