Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside some of your bones, such as your hip and thigh bones. It contains immature cells, called stem cells. The stem cells can develop into the red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body, the white blood cells that fight infections, and the platelets help with blood clotting.
If there is a problem with your bone marrow, a transplant can give you healthy new marrow. You could need a transplant because of a disease, such as bone marrow diseases or cancers like leukemia or lymphoma. Or you might need one if a strong cancer treatment kills your healthy blood cells.
People with cancer sometimes donate bone marrow before treatment to be transplanted later. But often the new marrow comes from a donor, either a close family member or someone unrelated.
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Bone Marrow Transplantation and Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation: Questions and Answers
(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/bone-marrow-transplant
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/bone-marrow-transplant-spanish
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Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation(Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) - Large PDF file - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1203086953.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1210608010.pdf
- Patient Frequently Asked Questions: Bone Marrow and Cord Blood Transplants(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Support_Resources/Patient_Frequently_A/index.html
- Understanding Transplant as a Treatment Option(Health Resources and Services Administration) - http://bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov/TRANSPLANT/Understanding_Tx/index.html
- Bone Marrow Cells Help Heart Attack Patients(03/30/2009, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_82337.html
- Nutrition After Bone Marrow Transplant(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/bone_marrow_transplantation/hic_nutrition_after_bone_marrow_transplant.aspx
- Coping with Bone Marrow Transplantation(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/bone_marrow_transplantation/hic_coping_with_bone_marrow_transplantation.aspx
- Asian & Pacific Islander Donors Can Save Lives(National Marrow Donor Program) - Links to PDF - http://www.marrow.org/TRANSLATIONS/ENGLISH/api_english.pdf
- Caregiving: Helping Your Loved One through Transplant(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Caregiving/
- Choosing a Transplant Center: A Patient's Guide(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Plan_for_Tx/Choosing_a_TC/index.html
- Discussing Options with Your Doctor(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Discuss_Opt_w_Dr/index.html
- Donor Experience (Stem Cells)(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4X_What_Does_The_Donor_Experience.asp?sitearea=ETO
- Donor Selection & Transplant Process(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Donor_Select_Tx_Process/index.html
- Learning More about Your Disease(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Lrn_about_Disease/index.html
- Planning for a Transplant(Health Resources and Services Administration) - http://bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov/TRANSPLANT/Planning/index.html
- Preventing Infections after Bone Marrow Transplant(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/2800/2860.asp?index=4511
- Problems in the Post-Transplant Period(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4X_Problems_in_the_Post-Transplant_Period.asp
- Reduced-Intensity Transplants(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Undrstnd_Treat_Opt/Lrn_BMT_Cord/R_Intensity_Tx/
- Resuming Sexual Activity After Bone Marrow Transplant(Cleveland Clinic Foundation) - http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/bone_marrow_transplantation/hic_resuming_sexual_activity_after_bone_marrow_transplant.aspx
- Role of the Transplant Caregiver(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Caregiving/Role_of_the_Transplant_Caregiv/index.html
- Understanding Survival Outcomes Data(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Undrstnd_Treat_Opt/Undrstnd_Survival_Outcome/index.html
- Understanding Your Treatment Options(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Undrstnd_Treat_Opt/index.html
- Working with Your Health Care Team(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Work_w_Health_Care_Team/index.html
- You and Survivorship(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Survivorship_Ed/index.html
- Planning for Transplant Costs(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Plan_for_Tx/Planning_for_Tx_Costs/index.html
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Bone Marrow Transplantation(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=bone+marrow+transplantation
- Learning about Clinical Trials(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Undrstnd_Treat_Opt/Lrn_Clinical_Trials/index.html
- Advances in Transplant: Helping More Patients(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Undrstnd_Disease_Treat/Undrstnd_Treat_Opt/Lrn_BMT_Cord/Advances_in_Tx/
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: The outcome of composite bone graft substitute used to treat... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19292421&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Bone marrow transplantation as a strategy for tolerance induction in... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19273089&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Bone marrow chimeras and c-fms conditional ablation (Mafia) mice reveal... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19234168&tool=MedlinePlus
- Bone Marrow Transplantation -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=bone+marrow+transplantation[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- National Marrow Donor Program: Glossary(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/GLOSSARY/
- Accredited Cellular Therapy Facility Search(Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy) - http://www.factwebsite.org/FacilitySearch.aspx?SearchType=FACT
- Organizations That Can Help: A Searchable Directory(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Support_Resources/Organizations_that_Can_Help/search_orgs.pl
- Transplant Center Search Form(BMT InfoNet) - http://www.bmtinfonet.org/centers/
- U.S. NMDP Transplant Centers(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Plan_for_Tx/Choosing_a_TC/US_NMDP_Transplant_Centers/tc_list_by_state.pl
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National Cancer Institute - http://www.cancer.gov/
- National Marrow Donor Program - http://www.marrow.org/
- Blood & Marrow Transplant Newsletter(BMT InfoNet) - http://www.bmtinfonet.org/letter.html
- How to Understand NMDP Transplant Center Statistics(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/Plan_for_Tx/Choosing_a_TC/Consider_When_Choosing_TC/Understand_TC_Stats/
- Bone Marrow Transplant(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site2169/mainpageS2169P0.html
- Getting Ready for Your Child's Transplant: A Parent Checklist(National Marrow Donor Program) - Links to PDF - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/When_Child_Needs_Tx/Preparing_for_Your_Childs_Tran/Getting_Ready_for_Your_Childs_/parent_checklist.pdf
- When Your Child Needs a Transplant(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/When_Child_Needs_Tx/index.html
- Supporting Your Teenager through Transplant(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/PATIENT/When_Child_Needs_Tx/Preparing_for_Your_Childs_Tran/Supporting_Your_Teenager_throu/index.html
- Bone Marrow Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bonemarrowdiseases.html
- Stem Cells - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/stemcells.html
- Immune System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/immunesystem.html
- Transplantation and Donation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/transplantationanddonation.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Bone Marrow Transplantation is the National Cancer Institute - http://www.nci.nih.gov/