Bone marrow transplants are a critical treatment option for many cancer patients, but finding a suitable donor can be challenging. Now, a San Francisco-based company called Ossium Health is turning to cadavers as a potential source of stem cells for these transplants.
Ossium Health has carried out three transplants for cancer patients using stem cells from deceased donors’ blood marrow in recent months. The company believes that this approach could help address the shortage of living donors and make bone marrow transplants more accessible to patients in need.
“The current ecosystem is based around living volunteers,” said Kevin Caldwell, Ossium Health’s CEO and co-founder. “While the US organ donor system has existed for decades, bone marrow has never been regularly collected from deceased donors.”
Cadaveric bone marrow transplants have several potential advantages over transplants from living donors. First, there is a much larger pool of potential donors. In the United States, there are over 100,000 people waiting for a bone marrow transplant, but only about 30% of them are able to find a suitable living donor.
Second, cadaveric bone marrow transplants can be performed more quickly than transplants from living donors. This is because the stem cells from a deceased donor are already collected and ready to be transplanted, whereas stem cells from a living donor must first be harvested from the donor’s body.
Third, cadaveric bone marrow transplants may be less risky for the donor. Living donors must undergo a surgical procedure to harvest their stem cells, which can involve some risks. Cadaveric donors, on the other hand, do not undergo any surgical procedures.
Of course, there are also some potential drawbacks to cadaveric bone marrow transplants. One concern is that the stem cells from a deceased donor may not be as healthy as the stem cells from a living donor. This could increase the risk of complications after the transplant.
Another concern is that the stem cells from a deceased donor may not be as well-matched to the recipient’s immune system as the stem cells from a living donor. This could also increase the risk of complications after the transplant.
Despite these potential drawbacks, cadaveric bone marrow transplants could offer a significant benefit to cancer patients who are unable to find a suitable living donor. Ossium Health is continuing to conduct research on this approach, and the company hopes to make cadaveric bone marrow transplants more widely available in the future.
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