Type of Surgery
Information

Last updated: 11/24/2009
In a successful bone marrow transplant, the donor's marrow migrates to the cavities in the recipient's bones and produces normal numbers of healthy blood cells. Bone marrow transplants can extend a person's life, improve quality of life, and may aid...
in curing the underlying ailment.
Advertisement
This video shows the constant battle between the two main cell types in bone, osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoblasts builds bone while osteoclasts dissolve bone for renovation and remodeling. The video explains how these cells influence the strength of bone throughout life.
Bone marrow consists of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets (A). In a bone marrow transplant, bone marrow is harvested from the donor's pelvic bone at the iliac crest (B). The marrow is filtered (C) before being introduced into a large vein in the recipient's chest via a catheter (D). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
Other Information
Bone marrow transplantation involves extracting bone marrow containing normal stem cells from a healthy donor, and transferring it to a recipient whose body cannot manufacture proper quantities of normal blood cells. The goal of the transplant is to rebuild the recipient's blood cells and immune system and hopefully cure the underlying ailment.
From http://www.answers.com/topic/bone-marrow-transplantation
Find a Qualified Specialist
Looking for a specialist?
Please enter your zip code.

