Leukemia and Lymphoma Bone Marrow Transplantation Bone marrow transplantation is a treatment for many diseases in both children and adults.
Bone marrow is the spongy tissue found inside large bones.
It is responsible for making red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. In typical cancer therapy, the amount of chemotherapy given is limited by the degree to which the bone marrow is suppressed or not functioning. In bone marrow transplantation, bone marrow cells are transfused after high doses of chemotherapy are given. Since bone marrow can grow back once it is put back in the body it is possible to give higher doses of chemotherapy than are normally given to treat cancer. There are different types of transplants depending on who donates the bone marrow.