Bone Marrow Transplant
Transplanting bone marrow has been a proven treatment for many decades. Bone marrow contains hematopoietic stem cells, which produce blood and immune cells.
If a patient suffers from a blood or immune system disease such as leukemia, the existing bone marrow stem cells may have to be killed by chemotherapy or radiation and then replaced with healthy bone marrow.
A bone marrow transplant can also replace stem cells that are damaged or destroyed as a result of chemotherapy for curing cancer of other tissues. The transplanted bone marrow can repopulate the entire blood system in the new host.
![A cross-section of a bone showing cells being harvested from the marrow into a test tube.](images/stem-cell-based-therapies-02.png)