If you are told that you might be referred for a bone marrow transplant, it is usually at a time when things aren't going too well. If there were a simpler way to cure your cancer, there would certainly be no call for bone marrow transplantation.
Having the procedure will sometimes involve traveling a considerable distance to a marrow transplant center. Which center to choose is often a difficult decision, with such factors as convenience, the center's experience with the disease and insurance issues all affecting the decision.
• Experience When facing a treatment as dangerous as bone marrow transplantation, most people want to be
sure they are treated at a highly experienced center so the risk can be minimized. With certain cancers, it might
be appropriate to choose a transplant center that has a special interest and extensive experience with your
particular type of tumor .
You and your doctor may want to consult the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American
Society of Hematology, which have made joint recommendations for the minimal criteria for a center to
perform the procedure.
• Costs Bone marrow transplantation is expensive and, in the United States, all transplant centers, before they
will allow admission, will want some guarantee that the cost of the treatment will be reimbursed. Most health
insurance companies in the United States now reimburse the cost for transplantation for leukemia and
lymphoma, but how willing they are to reimburse for other diseases varies widely. It's unfortunate, but some
patients will be denied this treatment because their insurance company will refuse to pay for it.
