Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplant

At CHRISTUS Health, we understand that undergoing a blood and marrow transplant is a challenging experience for both your child and your family. Our compassionate team of experts is here to support your family every step of the way, providing expert medical care as well as emotional and educational support for your child and your family throughout the process.

You are not alone in this journey. We are dedicated to helping your child with exceptional care that prioritizes their overall health and well-being.

Multidisciplinary Team Approach

Our team of blood and marrow specialists cross-collaborates with various departments to provide exceptional care for our patients. This collaborative approach ensures every child receives patient-focused care and comfort from our experienced physicians and support staff.

Access to Transplant Care

We provide seamless access to outpatient clinical care, laboratory, and diagnostic services. At some locations, we also offer inpatient care for our blood and marrow transplant patients.  With CHRISTUS Health, you can trust that compassionate care will be at the forefront of every step of your child’s journey of hope and healing.

We understand that undergoing a bone and marrow transplant can be a challenging experience for both your child and your family. Rest assured that our team is dedicated to providing the highest quality care, including support and resources for families throughout the process.

At CHRISTUS Health, our team of multidisciplinary specialists work together to provide superior care for our young patients who must undergo bone and marrow transplants.

Our experienced physicians and staff ensure every patient receives the utmost care and comfort. 

Additionally, we provide seamless access to outpatient clinical care, laboratory and diagnostic services. As part of the CHRISTUS Health family, you can trust that compassionate care will be at the forefront of every step of your child’s journey.

Types of Transplants

Autologous Transplant

An autologous transplant is a procedure where your child's own stem cells are collected and stored before they undergo high-dose chemotherapy or radiation. After the treatment, which aims to destroy cancer cells, the stored stem cells are returned to your child's body to help rebuild their bone marrow and restore blood cell production. This type of transplant is commonly used for treating conditions such as brain tumors, lymphomas, neuroblastoma, and certain autoimmune diseases. Using their own stem cells may reduce the risk of complications like graft-versus-host disease.

Allogeneic Transplant

An allogeneic transplant involves using stem cells from a donor to replace your child's damaged or diseased bone marrow. The donor can be a matched sibling, a matched unrelated donor, cord blood from newborns, or a mismatched related donor, such as a parent. This type of transplant is used for conditions like leukemia, bone marrow failures, sickle cell disease, thalassemia, storage diseases, and immunodeficiencies. The donor stem cells help create a new, healthy immune system in the patient

Conditions Treated with Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplant

A blood and marrow transplant may be used to treat a variety of pediatric conditions, including:

• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• Neuroblastoma
• Certain brain tumors
• Aplastic anemia
• Sickle cell disease
• Thalassemia
• Bone marrow failure syndromes
• Inherited immune deficiencies
• Certain metabolic and genetic disorders

Types of Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplants

Autologous Transplant

An autologous transplant uses your child's own stem cells. The stem cells are collected and stored before high-dose chemotherapy or other treatments. After treatment, the stem cells are returned to your child's body to help restore healthy blood cell production.

Allogeneic Transplant

An allogeneic transplant uses stem cells from a donor. The donor may be a sibling, family member, unrelated donor or cord blood donor. Donor stem cells replace unhealthy bone marrow and help establish a new, healthy blood and immune system.

What to Expect During the Transplant Process

Every child's treatment plan is unique, but the blood and marrow transplant process typically includes:

• Comprehensive Evaluation to determine whether a transplant is the right option.
• Donor Identification and Matching if a donor transplant is needed.
• Conditioning Treatment using chemotherapy and other therapies to prepare the body.
• Stem Cell Infusion to deliver healthy stem cells.
• Recovery and Monitoring to support engraftment and track your child's progress.

Your care team will provide education, guidance and support throughout each stage of treatment.

Support for the Whole Family

A blood and marrow transplant affects more than your child's health. It can impact your entire family physically, emotionally and financially. That's why care often includes education, emotional support, care coordination and resources designed to help your family navigate treatment with confidence.

We believe families should feel informed, supported and involved in every decision about their child's care.

Why Choose CHRISTUS Health for Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplant Care?

When your child faces a serious cancer, blood disorder or immune condition, you want confidence that they are receiving the right care at the right time. At CHRISTUS Health, pediatric blood and marrow transplant care brings together specialists from multiple disciplines to create a treatment plan tailored to your child's unique needs.

Our collaborative approach helps ensure seamless care throughout diagnosis, treatment, recovery and long-term follow-up, while keeping your family at the center of every decision.