What is an Autologous Stem Cell Transplant?

Managing partner at Hudson Valley Cancer Center Ram Kancherla MD runs the private oncology practice in an administrative and financial capacity. Having completed both his residency and fellowship in institutions within New York, Dr. Ram Kancherla served as the director at the Autologous Stem Cell Transplant.

Autologous stem cell transplant or autologous bone marrow transplant is a procedure in which healthy stem cells are used to replace the stem cells that have been damaged or destroyed by excess radiation and exposure to chemotherapy. Often used in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma, an autologous stem cell transplant is preferred because it eliminates the need to worry about a patient's incompatibility with a donor's stem cells.

To perform an autologous stem cell transplant, healthcare providers will extract blood from a vein in the patient's arm. This blood sample then passes through an apheresis machine to remove the stem cells from the blood sample. After a patient's chemotherapy and radiation sessions, the stem cells are returned to replace the healthy stem cells destroyed during the cancer treatments.