Sanford Health touts bone marrow transplant from same patient

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Sanford Health accomplishes a major milestone.

The Fargo Bone Marrow Transplant program completes its first bone marrow transplant from the same patient at Roger Maris Cancer Center.

A bone marrow transplant takes stem cells out of the body, freezes them, stores them in a lab and puts the healthy cells back in the body after chemotherapy.

Sanford says the procedure was the first of its kind in North Dakota and brings the Fargo Medical Center closer to becoming a national destination for cancer treatment.

“The idea of building a program for bone marrow transplant here in Fargo was floating around for five to seven years ago. We decided and the administration committed to build the program and for the last two years we have been planning work and multiple meetings until we were finally able to get the program up and running,” Cancer and blood disorder specialist Dr. Ammar Alzoubi said.

Doctors say taking cells out of the body prior to chemo and then placing them back in helps patients recover more efficiently after the therapy.