Advances in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood. It may be autologous (the patient’s own stem cells are used), allogeneic (the stem cells come from a donor) or syngeneic (from an identical twin). It is a medical procedure in the field of hematology, most often performed for patients with certain cancers of the blood or bone marrow, such as multiple myeloma or leukemia. In these cases, the recipient’s immune system is usually destroyed with radiation or chemotherapy before the transplantation. Infection and graft-versus-host disease are major complications of allogeneic HSCT. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation remains a dangerous procedure with many possible complications; it is reserved for patients with life-threatening diseases. As survival following the procedure has increased, its use has expanded beyond cancer, such as autoimmune diseases. In the present book, fifteen typical literatures about hematopoietic stem cell transplantation published on international authoritative journals were selected to introduce the worldwide newest progress, which contains reviews or original researches on medical science, transplantation medicine, hematology, stem cells, epidemiology, ect. We hope this book can demonstrate advances in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as well as give references to the researchers, students and other related people.