Young and unrelated donors with high counts of T cells

Donor and a patient that match T cells have low chances for relapse of the disease after transplant.

Importance of T cells in stem transplants

In the stem cell transplants the cells are replaced with new cells thus identification of healthy stem cells is essential to prevent future heath related issues such as disease relapse. According to a recent study in the journal of clinical oncology, matching the patients is one key factor in a transplant process. In addition, the study suggests that unrelated donors with high number of the t cells counts are the best donors for the stem transplants patients.

The T cells help reduce the effects of the disease as replacement with the new cells enable the body to fight the diseases infection effectively. Chemotherapy or a combination of chemotherapy and radiation is given to eradicate the damaged cells thus suppress the patient’s immune system. New cells are infused into the patient’s body and thus help the patient to fight the disease. T cells are essential in this case because they help reduce the chances of relapse. In addition, the chemotherapy or radiation dose is reduced by presence of the t cells in the body of the patient.

Identification of a donor for stem transplants

Finding a donor is an important task, and requires great care. In stem transplants, the best donor are those who can give a high level of T cells, are young and unrelated to the patient. The T cells are able to destroy the cancer cells in the patients’ systems thus enhance a healthy and success transplant. The study by Porter and Reshef from Abramson Cancer Center University of Pennsylvania suggest that unrelated young individuals with a high count of the t cells are the best donors for any stem transplant. This is because; the donors have a high level of T cells, which are the most essential elements in the transplant process. In addition, survival rates for the patients are higher for unrelated donor at a rate of 59% as compared to 18% for a related donor.

It is important for the health practitioners to understand the impact of T cells in patients requiring a stem transplant. As a result, identification of a donor through screening and blood tests to identify the level of T cells can help control and reduce the prevalence of the disease. In addition, it is more imperative to conduct a successful process that will be long-term beneficial impact to the patient.

Moreover, many cases of disease relapse that could be prevented through identification an efficient donor. For patient, there could be many relatives with high count of T cells, but it is better to go outside the relations and identify unrelated donor especially the young individuals. Their cells are highly efficient in killing and complete destruction of the cancer cell. Effective transplant promotes the body’s ability to reduce infection and increases anticancer activity. There are cases of transplant failure, to prevent this complication; T cells are among the most influential factors to consider.