Bone marrow transplant surgery is often seen as one of the brightest lights in the dark cloud of cancer care. The procedure has been one of the most effective counter-measures to the spread of cancer throughout a body, and has the distinction of being one of the less time-consuming approaches to cancer treatment. However, recent studies and discoveries have shown that bone marrow transplant surgery may is not as rosy and shiny as once thought, with news of side effects and possible complications emerging from the woodwork. For one thing, the transplanted cells can occasionally attack the new host body, causing damage to cell structure, the skin, and internal organs.
This particular effect, known as Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD), has been known to strike several transplant patients every year. The frequency and the severity of the problem have given it the distinction of being the premier problem faced by people who undergo bone marrow transplant surgery. This occurs when the transplanted bone marrow carries active immune cells with it. These cells the proceed to attack the host body, believing it to be a foreign entity. There are procedures in place to help prevent...