Biopsy after transplant question

[Rarity]

Hello all,

Has anyone not had a bmb after transplant? Do they not do one because all numbers are normal and there is no need? Does that mean the mutations are gone too because all other tests are normal? Thanks in advance!

[shadowii]

my dad says his doctors are going to be giving him those for the rest of his life to make sure no relapse or to catch it if it starts happening

[Meri T.]

Hello,
Yes, you could be right. If the counts are normal, and due to Insurance, the doctor might not need to do a BMB.

We have NHI here, so all my transplantee friends and I had a BMB after the transplant. Mine was a bit late, 4 months after transplant. My counts were fine at that time. My hospital did a BMB at least once for all transplantees, maybe their policy.

Not much help here, but I do think it depends on your counts, and your insurance.
Meri.

[DanL]

I had bmb done annually for the first couple of years post transplant after my numbers had normalized and the relapse was cleared. It has been 2 years since my last one because everything looks ok.

Dan

[Rarity]

Shadowii, Thank you. Wishing your father a good recovery.

Meri - Thanks for your reply. We have good insurance, so I don't think that comes into play for him at least. Just thought they'd have a look by now.

Dan - Thank you for replying. My concern is to make sure everything in the marrow is going well as the blood levels. May be they don't do one unless something is off.

Thank you all

[Emily59]

I had SCT in Aug 2018. They did a BMB after 3 months. After that if my numbers look good, they say I will have another BMB 1 year after transplant and annually after that.

[GoodDay5150]

Speaking from my own experience, I had 2 biopsies b4 my transplant and 2 after. The 2nd pre-transplant biopsy was to ensure that my disease had not progressed into anything else. I rem that the 2nd post-transplant biopsy was done maybe 18 mos- 2 yrs after bcse they used the smart port for the 1st time after that was placed for ease of GVHD treatments. I also asked my doctor afterwards if I would need any more BMB'S and was told not unless there was some concern in the future. I would guess the need for a biopsy is also dependent on your disease, age, etc.

Mario

[David T]

I had four BMBs at various stages, prior to my SCT two months ago. My doctor says he probably won't do another one unless the numbers give any cause for concern.

So as long as my counts are good, I will be spared the experience of a 5th one.