Communication with patients and their families, who undergo bone marrow transplantation.

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a widely accepted treatment for malignant and nonmalignant diseases. With advances such as autologous and allogenic stem cell transplant, umbilical cord blood transplant, and improved biomedical support therapies, the need to evaluate the impact technology on the patient and the family continues to be an important aspect of medical and nursing research. BMT has been described as a procedure associated with isolation of the patient, prolonged hospitalizations, rapid fluctuations in medical conditions, frequent and often life-threatening infections, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Although some patients encounter such difficult experiences during recovery and a significant mortality rate is associated with the procedure, other patients experience rapid recovery with minimum risk of serious complications and a shortened hospital length of stay. Issues related to the caregiver availability and caregiver burden become more important in theses aggressive outpatient settings. The paper discusses the psychosocial impact of BMT on the patient as well as on the family. The psychosocial nursing care during BMT is discussed. The cultural influence is recognized and stressed. Quality-of-life dimensions and the impact of BMT as well as implications for nursing are stressed. Also, the experience of donating bone marrow to a relative will be discussed and the implications for a nursing practice will be described.