Many people have now had transplants. Everyone who has these treatments helps doctors and researchers to understand more about the process.
However, until it is a completely safe procedure, and works well for all the diseases it is used to treat, more research is needed to improve the techniques.
Research is going on around the world to try to decide on:
- the best forms of preparatory treatment
- ways of preventing graft-versus-host disease
- and techniques for speeding up bone marrow recovery time.
Several international organisations monitor statistics for transplant operations, and their outcomes, from many countries. They provide researchers with all the available data so that they can compare treatment methods and procedures.
Many of these intensive treatments are done as part of cancer research trials (clinical trials). If you are invited to take part in a trial, it is important to remember that whatever treatment you are offered will have been carefully researched in preliminary studies before it is fully tested in a clinical trial. It will also have been approved by an ethics committee.
Your doctor must have your informed consent before entering you for a trial. Informed consent means that you know what the trial is about; you understand why it is being conducted and why you have been invited to take part; and the treatment has been discussed with you.
Even after agreeing to take part in a trial, you can still leave the trial at any stage if you change your mind.
If you choose not to take part in a trial, this will not affect your doctor’s attitude towards you. If you do take part, you will be helping to advance medical science and improve prospects for patients in the future.