Stem cell transplants for sickle cell disease

Your child's health-care team may recommend stem cell transplants to treat your child's sickle cell disease.

Stem cell (bone marrow) transplant

Stem cell transplant (or bone marrow transplant) is sometimes used to treat sickle cell disease in children. Bone marrow is the centre of the bone where blood cells are made by stem cells. It is obtained when someone donates their bone marrow.

Stem cell transplants replace the recipient's bone marrow with healthy bone marrow from a donor. This allows the body to make red blood cells that contain normal hemoglobin A.

These transplants can only be done if the bone marrow donor and person with sickle cell disease have matching tissue types.

Possible risks of stem cell transplant

The treatment might not work if the donor bone marrow is rejected, or if the immune systems of the donor and person with sickle cell disease do not co-operate with each other. In these cases, the person with sickle cell disease may experience serious skin, joint or gut symptoms, or serious and sometimes life-threatening infections.

Make sure you talk to your child's health-care provider about all the risks and benefits of stem cell transplants.