What is a bone marrow transplant?
Bone marrow transplantation, also known as blood and marrow transplantation, has evolved over the past 20 years into a successful therapy for various malignant and non-malignant diseases that, in the past, would not have been curable. It has been proven to help with many cancer-related illnesses and some autoimmune diseases, such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and aplastic anemia.
Bone marrow transplantation involves the replacement of stem cells from bone marrow following a high dose of chemotherapy and radiation. You and your transplant physician will decide which type of transplant is the best treatment option for you. The two main kinds are allogeneic, where a donor supplies the marrow or stem cells, and autologous, where the patient's bone marrow or stem cells are used.