A bone marrow transplant (BMT), also known as a stem cell transplant, is a procedure that places (transplants) healthy blood stem cells into a body where the stem cells have been destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation. It may be seen as a method to “rescue” your child from the severe side effects of high dose chemotherapy and radiation. When the stem cells come from another person, the procedure is called an allogeneic BMT.
While being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), your child may need an allogeneic BMT if they:
- have a very high-risk ALL based on certain genetic or chromosomal abnormalities in the leukemia cells
- is not responding well to chemotherapy
- relapses.
For more information, please visit the Blood and Marrow Learning Hub.