Hematologist
CION Cancer Clinics
The day 100 review after a stem cell transplant | CION Cancer Clinics
The day 100 assessment is a fuller check-up about three months after a transplant. It looks at four things: whether the new marrow is making blood, whether the original disease is still controlled, how your organs are coping, and how your immunity is recovering. The results shape the next year, from medicine reductions to how often you visit. Here is what is checked and what it can lead to. At CION Cancer Clinics, our haematology team assesses whether a transplant or CAR-T fits your situation and coordinates care with qualified centres.
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Medically reviewed by Dr. Basudev PokhrelConsultant Haematologist · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What is the day 100 assessment after a transplant?
- What do the doctors check at the day 100 review?
- How should you prepare for the review?
- What might each finding lead to?
- What do families often misunderstand about this review?
- What do the words on the review report mean?
- What can this page not tell you about your own results?
- Common questions about the day 100 review
The short answer
What is the day 100 assessment after a transplant?
The day 100 assessment is a planned, fuller check-up done around three months after a stem cell or bone marrow transplant. It looks at whether the new marrow is working, whether the original disease is still under control, and how your organs and immune system are coping.
Why it is done at this point
Most early transplant problems show up in the first three months. By now the counts have usually recovered, and the team has enough information to take stock. The results decide what happens next: which medicines can slowly be reduced, how often you need to come back, and whether any further treatment is needed.
It is not one test
Families often expect a single report. In practice it is a set of blood tests, sometimes a bone marrow test or a scan, and a long clinic conversation. It may be spread across a few days. Exactly what is done depends on your original disease, the type of transplant and how the last three months have gone. Someone who had a transplant with their own cells will usually have fewer tests than someone who had a donor transplant.
The name varies. Your centre may call it the day plus hundred review, the three-month review or the restaging visit.What gets checked
What do the doctors check at the day 100 review?
Most reviews cover these four areas. Not every test is needed for every person.
Is the new marrow working?
A full blood count shows whether white cells, platelets and haemoglobin are holding steady without transfusions.
After a donor transplant, also
- A chimerism test: how much of the blood is donor-made
Is the disease still controlled?
Depending on the original illness, this may mean a bone marrow test, a PET-CT scan (a scan that shows active areas in the body), or special blood tests that look for very small traces of disease.
How are the organs coping?
Kidney and liver blood tests, blood sugar, and sometimes heart or lung function tests. Transplant medicines and earlier treatment can strain these organs quietly.
Immunity, infection and GVHD
Virus checks such as CMV, antibody levels, and a careful look at the skin, mouth, eyes, gut and liver for graft-versus-host disease.
GVHD only applies after a donor transplant.Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistBefore and on the day
How should you prepare for the review?
Ask what is booked
Call the transplant coordinator a week ahead. Ask which tests are planned, whether any need fasting, and whether a bone marrow test or scan is on a separate day.
Gather your papers
Bring the discharge summary, every report since, your current medicine list and any tests done at another hospital or lab near home.
Write down what changed
Note new rashes, dry eyes, mouth soreness, loose motions, weight change, breathlessness or low mood. Small things matter here, so write them down even if they seem minor.
Bring the decision-maker
The results conversation shapes the next year. Bring the family member who helps with decisions and money, and a notebook.
Reading the results
What might each finding lead to?
What the review finds
What often follows
Steady counts, no GVHD, disease not seen
Visits spaced out, and a plan to slowly reduce some medicines
Mixed chimerism after a donor transplant
Repeat testing, and sometimes a change in immune-suppressing medicines
Signs of GVHD
Treatment adjusted and closer follow-up
Small traces of the original disease
Discussion of further options, often with repeat tests first
A virus found in the blood
Closer monitoring or treatment for the infection
Commonly believed
What do families often misunderstand about this review?
"If day 100 is clear, the transplant has worked for good."
A good review is genuinely encouraging, but it is a snapshot at one point. Checks continue for years because some problems, including a return of the disease, can appear later. Treat it as a milestone rather than the end.
"A bone marrow test at this stage means they suspect relapse."
For many blood cancers it is simply part of the routine plan, booked long before any result was known. Ask the team why it is being done if you are worried, rather than assuming.
"Once the review is done, we can stop the precautions."
The immune system is still rebuilding. Food, hygiene and crowd precautions usually continue, and vaccines are restarted later on a schedule your team sets.
"We can skip it if he feels fine."
Feeling well does not show what the marrow, liver or virus tests would find. Several of the most important changes cause no symptoms at first. Keep the appointment.
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On your report
What do the words on the review report mean?
- Full donor chimerism
- The blood cells tested appear to come entirely from the donor.
- Mixed chimerism
- Some of your own cells are still present alongside the donor's. What it means depends on the disease and the trend over time.
- MRD (measurable residual disease)
- A very sensitive test for tiny amounts of disease that a routine marrow report would miss.
- Remission
- No sign of the disease on the tests done. It does not mean it can never return.
- Taper
- A slow, planned reduction of a medicine by your team. Never done on your own.
Being straight with you
What can this page not tell you about your own results?
This page cannot tell you what your own day 100 results mean. The same finding can matter a great deal for one disease and very little for another. Your transplant team reads each result against your diagnosis, your earlier tests and how you feel.
Trends matter more than one result
A single chimerism figure, a slightly raised liver test or one virus reading is rarely acted on alone. Teams usually repeat the test and look at the direction it is moving. If a number on your report worries you, ask what the previous one was and when it will be checked again.
If you want another pair of eyes
Many families travel home to a Telangana or Andhra Pradesh district after the first months. CION's haematology team can go through your review reports with you, explain them in plain language, and help you keep in step with your transplant centre, which stays in charge of your transplant care.
Questions we are asked
Common questions about the day 100 review
Is the day 100 review done exactly on day 100?
Rarely to the day. Most centres schedule it within a few weeks either side, depending on clinic slots, test booking and how you are doing. What matters is that it happens around three months after the transplant, not the exact date on the calendar.
Will I need another bone marrow test?
Possibly. For leukaemia, myelodysplasia and some other conditions it is often part of the routine plan. For others, blood tests or a scan may be enough. Ask your team in advance so you know what to expect and can plan the day and any pain relief with them.
How long do the results take?
Routine blood results are often back the same day. Chimerism, residual disease tests and marrow reports can take longer, sometimes a week or two. Ask when the team expects to have everything, and how they will tell you, before you leave the clinic.
Can the medicines be reduced after the review?
Sometimes. If there is no GVHD and the disease picture is reassuring, some teams begin a slow reduction of immune suppressing medicines around this time. The decision is individual and the pace is set by your doctors. Never lower or stop a medicine yourself because the review went well.
Does a good review mean I can go back home?
Often it means you can live further from the transplant centre and come back less often. Ask whether some blood tests can be done near home, how results will reach the team, and what to do if you become unwell far from the centre.
When will I get my vaccines again?
The transplant usually wipes out the protection from childhood vaccines, so most people are vaccinated again. The schedule depends on your immunity, GVHD and medicines. Some vaccines start later in the first year, and live vaccines wait longer. Your team gives you the plan.
What if the review shows the disease has returned?
It is hard news, and options still exist. They depend on the disease, how much is found and how you are. The team may repeat tests first, adjust immune-suppressing medicines or discuss further treatment. Ask for a separate meeting to talk it through with family present.
Is the day 100 review covered by insurance or Aarogyasri?
Coverage for follow-up tests varies by policy and scheme, and the rules change. Ask your insurer or the scheme desk at the transplant centre before the review which tests are covered, and keep every bill and report together for any claim.
Your Haematologist
Meet CION's haematologist. One specialist for your blood report and your plan.
Dr. Basudev Pokhrel reviews blood counts, transfusion needs and blood disorders, and works with the CION tumour board on blood cancers.
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Sources
- National Cancer Institute — Stem Cell Transplants in Cancer Treatment
- American Cancer Society — Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplant
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society — Stem Cell Transplantation
- NHS — Stem cell and bone marrow transplants
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
The First 100 Days After TransplantThe months leading up to this reviewChimerism Testing: Whose Marrow Is It NowThe donor-cell test explained in fullLong-Term Follow-Up Schedule After TransplantWhat the check-ups look like after day 100Relapse After Transplant: What Options RemainIf the review finds the disease againLife After TransplantEvery guide for the months and years ahead
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Have your day 100 reports and questions?
Share them with us. CION's haematology team will explain them in plain language and help you keep in step with your transplant centre. One helpline serves every CION centre.