Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation
This booklet provides information about blood and marrow stem cell transplantation for the treatment of blood cancers. Stem cell transplantation procedures continue to be improved, making transplantation a treatment option for more patients. Certain other marrow disorders are also treated with transplantation, and many of the principles are the same as those described in this booklet. Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation includes definitions of medical terms. This booklet will help you talk with your doctor about stem cell transplantation.
Transplant doctors use stem cell transplantation so that they can give large doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy to increase the chance of eliminating disease in the marrow and then restoring normal blood cell production. The infusion of a sufficient number of stem cells from a closely matched donor, whether a sibling or unrelated donor, will begin to restore marrow function and blood cell production and allow recovery from the intensive treatment.