New research may make it possible for more people with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to get life-saving transplants.

In the past, a transplant using blood-forming cells from a sibling was the only well-tested transplant option.

New research shows that a transplant from an unrelated donor can help people with ALL live equally long as a transplant from a sibling.

Patients had less chronic GVHD after cord blood transplants.

Patients who received ATG had less acute GVHD.

​Older patients (aged 65 years and older) with AML can get high dose chemo if they are healthy enough.

About half of the older patients who get high dose chemo go into remission. However, the disease usually comes back within a year.

About 40% of older patients in remission who get an allo transplant live at least 2 years.

It is important for patients to talk with their doctor about an allo transplant as soon as they find out they have AML.

​Cytogenetics, or the study of chromosomes, help predict the health of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

New risk classifications could be used to predict how well patients with AML will respond to transplant.

​30% of very young BMT recipients have organ damage or other late effects.

Common late effects are delayed growth, cataracts, and hypothyroidism.

Full-body radiation increases the chance of getting these late effects.

​Transplant outcomes are similar in children and young adults with CML.

Transplant works better with bone marrow from sibling donors.

Taking TKIs before transplant doesn't affect how well transplant works.

​Children and teen patients who get transplants from their younger siblings get less GVHD than patients who get transplants from their older siblings.

For adult patients, it makes no difference if a sibling donor is younger or older.

​Patients had less chronic GVHD after cord blood transplants.

Patients who received ATG had less acute GVHD.

​Rituximab helped patients live a little longer without the NHL getting worse.

Rituximab made no difference in rates of overall survival, GVHD, and relapse

​Auto transplant or reduced-intensity allo transplant can help patients with follicular lymphoma.

More than 2 years after transplant, patients who get an allo transplant are more likely to survive than patients who get an auto transplant.

​​25% of patients with mantle cell lymphoma went into remission after an allo transplant when chemotherapy and radiation alone didn't work.

Patients can do just as well after transplant with a low dose of chemotherapy and radiation as they would with a high dose.

Patients have fewer serious side effects from a low dose of chemotherapy and radiation.

​Allo transplant may help people with high risk myeloma or myeloma that comes back early after an auto transplant live longer without the disease.

Younger people and people with no myeloma signs or symptoms before allo transplant lived longer without the disease.

​25% of myeloma patients whose cancer returned after their first transplant went into a complete remission after a second transplant.

Patients who were in remission for at least 1.5 years after their first transplant lived almost twice as long after their second transplant as patients who relapsed in less than 1.5 years.

​Some patients with sickle cell disease do well after a transplant from a matched sibling.

Many do not have symptoms of sickle cell disease for at least 5 years after transplant.

​​Most patients can find a well matched or a very well matched available adult donor in the Be The Match Registry.

It is important to find the best donor as soon as possible, so the transplant isn't delayed. If a very well matched donor isn't available, it is better to use a well matched donor than to wait to try to find a very well matched one.

​Transplants are used more often to treat leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma in Whites than in Blacks.

Men get transplants more often than women.

​Siblings 60 and older can donate blood-forming cells.

Older donors have similar quality of life after donation as younger donors.

​At 5 years after transplant from an unrelated conor, people who got bone marrow had better quality of life than people who got PBSC. People who got bone marrow:

- Were more likely to be back at work.

- Said they felt better emotionally.

- Had fewer symptoms of chronic GVHD.

​An older sibling donor is better than a younger, unrelated donor for patients who are 50 or older.

Looking at patients with a high performance score (healthier patients): Patients with older sibling donors survive longer, relapse less, and get less GVHD than patients with younger, unrelated volunteer donors.

​Many complications of HLA-mismatched transplantation are the result of genes that are not currently tested in the pre-transplant evaluation process of donors and patients.

Scientists use SNPs, which are very small changes in the DNA genetic code, to locate unknown genes.

Some SNPs are associated with better results after transplantation than other SNPs.

​Common places for new cancers after transplant are the mouth, skin, breast, and thyroid.

Both allogeneic and autologous transplant recipients have a higher chance of getting a new cancer.

​Hematopoietic cell transplantation can cause patients to become infertile. However, there are options for fertility preservation, which allow patients to have children in the future.

Most doctors who responded to the survey feel comfortable talking with patients about fertility preservation.

Patients must tell their doctor if they want to talk about fertility preservation.

​Patients are more likely to survive long-term after transplant if:

- They get transplant sooner.

- They have better disease control and immune system support.

- They get less toxic therapy.

​​Patients are involved in every step of the research process.

Researchers think the care plans will help patients be healthier and less stressed after transplant.

​More older people got BMT between 2000 and 2013.

BMT results for older people have gotten better between 2000 and 2013.