Elective Course Description
This elective introduces bone marrow transplantation and its role in lethal acquired hematological diseases including leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and aplastic anemia. Students will be introduced to the clinical and biological basis of marrow transplantation; the basic concepts of immunogenetics and their importance in the selection of recipient and donor matches; and the principles of management of transplant-related disorders such as graft failure, graft-versus-host disease, and transplant-associated infections, as well as techniques for removing T-cells or alternatively selecting progenitor cells for transplant purposes. Students will accompany the attending and fellow during daily rounds, attend outpatient BMT clinics one to two afternoons/week and attend weekly Marrow Transplant Rounds with other members of the service. Students will observe a bone marrow transplant and will participate in other modes of transplantation used for patients lacking a matched donor, i.e., T-cell depleted marrow grafts, partially matched marrow grafts, and umbilical cord grafts. Students will also audit a web-based curriculum for the BMT electives (16 lectures) developed by the National Marrow Donor Program. They will have a one hour/week meeting with a junior faculty member or senior fellow to review the material from the web-based curriculum as well as discuss issues that may have come up on rounds/in clinic.
Learning Objectives
- Understand basic concepts in stem cell transplantation, including indications, donor selection, and regimen intensity.
- Understand biological differences between autologous and allogeneic transplant and how they relate to risk of relapse and graft-versus-host disease.
- Recognize complications such as graft-versus-host disease and basic treatment principles.
- Understand risks of infection, including timeline of infectious risk and treatment principles for the most common infections.
