ABSTRACT
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been carried out for over four decades, yet its optimal clinical use in patient treatments is still in development. Three sources of hematopoietic stem cells are used for transplantation. These originate from (1) bone marrow, (2 peripheral blood following mobilization from the bone marrow with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) with or without other mobilizing factors such as the CXCR4 antagonist, Perixafor, and (3) umbilical cord blood (Fesler et al. 2009, Donahue et al. 2009, Fruehauf et al. 2009, Watt and Forde 2008). All three sources of hematopoietic stem cells may be used for autologous and related or unrelated allogeneic transplants and, with some differences between cell sources, are used routinely for treating malignant and non-malignant disorders of the blood. Their use is dependent on a number of factors including individualized patient need, the hematological or other disease being treated, patient age, disease status, conditioning, availability of a donation or donor, and the country where the transplant takes place.
