Why does a patient need a bone marrow transplant?
The purpose of Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) and Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (PBSCT) in cancer treatment is to enable patients to receive safely very high doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. High doses of chemotherapy and radiation therapy will destroy cancer cells and some healthy cells. BMT and PBSCT replace healthy stem cells that were destroyed by these treatments. The healthy, transplanted stem cells can restore the bone marrow’s ability to produce the blood cells the patient needs. In essence, this gives the patient a new immune system. Return to top of page.
