Stem cells are very young blood cells that are formed in the bone marrow.
Stem cells are important because all the different kinds of blood cells found in the body are produced from them. Chemotherapy and radiation therapies are cancer treatments that may be given in high doses to increase their effectiveness against certain types of cancer. High-dose therapy can damage or destroy the person's bone marrow so they can no longer make new blood cells. The stem cells that were damaged by the treatment will be replaced by these healthy stem cells. Upon completion of the medical evaluation, the patient's case is reviewed by the transplant team.