Leukemia and lymphoma: a bone marrow transplant guide

In acute leukaemia, refractory lymphoma and multiple myeloma, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is often the only curative route. It is also the most demanding treatment in medical tourism: not a one-week trip but a months-long process with a critical inpatient phase.

The procedure involves myeloablation with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, followed by rescue using the patient's own stem cells (autologous) or a matched donor's (allogeneic). Autologous transplant has fewer immune complications and success exceeds 80% in JCI centres; allogeneic adds an antitumour effect but requires donor search and matching.

The stages are pre-transplant assessment, mobilisation and harvest or donor search, conditioning, infusion, aplasia with three to six weeks of isolation, and prolonged outpatient follow-up. The most feared complication in allogeneic transplant is graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), alongside serious opportunistic infections during aplasia. Nearby accommodation and a companion for the whole stay must be planned.

Turkey and India have scaled their transplant units to offer these treatments from EUR 35,000 with survival rates aligned to international standards. Spain and the United States handle the most complex cases and experimental protocols. The total range reaches EUR 80,000 with stays of four to eight weeks.

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