BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

A procedure in which doctors replace diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow. The diseased bone marrow is destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. The replacement marrow may come from another person, or it may be the patient's own marrow (which was removed and stored before treatment). When donated marrow is used, the procedure is usually called allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Autologous bone marrow transplantation uses the patient's own marrow.