Bone marrow transplantation takes cells from a donor's bone marrow (stem cells), filters those cells, and gives them back either to the patient they were taken from or to another person. This replaces the unhealthy bone marrow in a sick child.

There are three main types of BMT:

• Autologous: Your child's stem cells are harvested, treated and returned to the body healthy.
• Allogeneic: A donor with the same genetic type as your child donates stem cells. It usually is a brother or sister but can be from a parent or even an unrelated donor.
• Umbilical cord blood transplant: Stem cells are removed from an umbilical cord immediately after a baby is delivered. They are then transplanted into your child.

There are a number of childhood disorders and cancers for which blood and marrow transplant might be the best course of treatment. These include:

• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)
• Severe aplastic anemia
• Sickle cell disease
• Thalassemia
• Metabolic storage diseases

The BMT transplant process at Children's Wisconsin involves the following steps:

• Meet with the blood and marrow transplant team
• Evaluation
• Finding a donor
• Pre-transplant education
• Blood and marrow transplant
• Aftercare
• Follow up