Florida Hospital For Children – Pediatric Hematology

Florida Hospital For Children Pediatric Hematology

We often take our blood for granted. When we develop a disorder of the blood like cancer, however, we begin to appreciate how important the blood really is. When blood cancer strikes a child, as it does too often, effective treatment becomes the singular focus. Fortunately Florida Hospital for Children doctors of pediatric hematology and the children’s oncology group are experts in fighting these diseases.

Blood disorders usually start in the bone marrow, which is the soft tissue in the center of the long bones of the body. Bone marrow is the place where blood cells are born but also the place where cancers of the blood come from as well. Many diseases of the blood can be cured with a procedure called a bone marrow transplant. While, cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma are particularly suited for treatment with a bone marrow transplant, non-cancerous blood diseases like sickle cell anemia and congenital neutropenia (low white blood cells) can be treated with the procedure, too.

In a bone marrow transplant, a doctor of oncology or of pediatric hematology infuses drugs into the bloodstream which target and kill the cancer and disease causing cells. Virtually all of the bone marrow is killed at the same time. Since people must have bone marrow in order to live a normal life, this is where the “transplant” of a bone marrow transplant comes into play.

In an allogenic bone marrow transplant (for humans, allogenic means tissue or cells that come from another human), bone marrow that people have generously donated is purified and made ready for transplant. The children’s oncology physician or nurse infuses the donor bone marrow into the bloodstream of the patient. The marrow cells make their way to the bones and begin to make new, healthy blood cells.

While allogenic bone marrow transplant and autologous bone marrow transplant are performed routinely, it is still a specialized treatment and not available at every hospital. If your child needs this lifesaving treatment, you will be referred to one of a number of bone marrow transplant hospitals. In central Florida, the Florida Hospital for Children is the home of expert oncology and pediatric hematology physicians. Their children’s oncology group specializes in the treatment of blood diseases and cancer, but also in the care of children. After all, each patient is a person and when it comes to pediatric hematology, each person is a child.