Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAnatomyFunctionDiseasesAbout TransplantsTransplant TypesDonors
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Anatomy
Function
Diseases
About Transplants
Transplant Types
Donors
Bone marrow is the soft, fatty tissue inside large bones like the hip and thigh bones. It develops the body’s red blood cells that carry oxygen, white blood cells that fight infections, and platelets that help clot blood. Conditions likeleukemiaandlymphoma, as well as chemotherapy, radiation exposure, and certain infections can severely damage bone marrow, disrupting blood cell production and requiring a transplant.
Bone marrow transplantsinvolve healthy marrow donations from a matched donor, either a family member or an unrelated volunteer. Donors can be any gender, ideally aged 18 to 44, and in excellent health.Other factors like weight limits and the use of certain medications and treatments can also exclude you from being a donor, depending on registry guidelines.
Jessica Olah / Verywell
The open spaces withintrabecularbone maximize surface area for cell growth and nutrient exchange. By allowing room for the growth and maturation of blood cells, this structure enables the bone marrow to function as an essential producer of cells that support oxygen transport, immune defense, and blood clotting.
Bone marrow serves a crucial function for the body. It produces most of the body’s essential blood cells, including:
There are two main types of bone marrow, and they each perform specific roles:
Red bone marrowis a vital tissue located in the cavities of certain bones, such as the hips, skull, and long bones. Its primary function is to produce blood cells, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red bone marrow is responsible for creating the blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body and strengthen the immune system, producing around 200 billion new blood cells daily.
The process of the bone marrow creating red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets is calledhematopoiesis.
What Can Damage Bone Marrow?
Bone marrow plays a vital role in producing blood cells, and when its function is disrupted, it can lead to a variety of health problems.
Some of the most common conditions that require bone marrow transplants include:
These conditions can disrupt normal bone marrow function, affecting blood cell production and overall health.
Why People Get Bone Marrow Transplants
Bone marrow transplants are often used to treat serious diseases and cancers that affect bone marrow function. The transplant aims to replace diseased or nonfunctioning bone marrow with healthy marrow, allowing the body to produce normal blood cells and restore vital functions.
Types of Transplants
There are a few different types of bone marrow transplants. The type of transplant you get depends on who the donor is. The types of bone marrow transplants include:
Allogeneic bone marrow transplant:An allogeneic bone marrow transplant uses stem cells from a genetically matched donor to restore blood production in patients with blood cancers, immune deficiencies, and certain genetic disorders.
This is the most commonly used type of transplant, as the donor’s cells provide a new, healthy immune system to replace the recipient’s compromised one. It’s especially effective for conditions like leukemia and lymphoma, where a fresh immune system is crucial for fighting disease.
Autologous bone marrow transplant:An autologous bone marrow transplant uses the recipient’s own stem cells, which are collected, frozen, and reintroduced after high-dose chemotherapy. This process helps restore healthy blood cell production in the bone marrow, often following the destruction of cancer cells.
It is commonly used for conditions like multiple myeloma, where chemotherapy is needed to treat cancer while preserving the recipient’s own stem cells for recovery. This transplant is commonly referred to as a “rescue.”
Umbilical cord blood transplant:Here, stem cells from a newborn’s umbilical cord are collected immediately after birth. These cells are highly effective at restoring blood production, especially after chemotherapy or radiation, and can develop into healthy blood cells faster than those from adult bone marrow.
While less frequently used, cord blood transplants are gaining popularity due to their availability and flexibility, especially for recipients who lack a fully matched donor. This type of transplant shows promise for treating cancers and serious blood disorders like aplastic anemia.
Donor Eligibility
To be eligible to donate bone marrow, you must meet certain health and age criteria. While healthy individuals aged 18 to 60 can be potential donors, those under 45 are preferred, as younger stem cells are more effective for transplant success. You must also be in good overall health, free from conditions or medications that might interfere with the donation process.
Summary
A bone marrow transplant involves replacing damaged or nonfunctional bone marrow with healthy stem cells from a donor. People may be eligible to donate bone marrow if they are healthy, between the ages of 18 and 44, and a suitable genetic match for the recipient. Depending on the type of bone marrow transplant, donors may be eligible family members, unrelated volunteers, or the recipient themselves.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Bone marrow transplantation.UCLA Health.Becoming a bone marrow donor.Moulopoulos, LA, Koutoulidis V.Normal bone marrow: anatomy, function, conversion, and reconversion.In: Moulopoulos LA, Koutoulidis V, eds.Bone Marrow MRI. Springer; 2015: 1–6. doi:10.1007/978-88-470-5316-8_1National Cancer Institute.Structure of bone tissue.UCSF.What is bone marrow?.Peconic Bay Medical Center.Red bone marrow vs. yellow bone marrow.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Bone marrow transplantation.UCLA Health.Becoming a bone marrow donor.Moulopoulos, LA, Koutoulidis V.Normal bone marrow: anatomy, function, conversion, and reconversion.In: Moulopoulos LA, Koutoulidis V, eds.Bone Marrow MRI. Springer; 2015: 1–6. doi:10.1007/978-88-470-5316-8_1National Cancer Institute.Structure of bone tissue.UCSF.What is bone marrow?.Peconic Bay Medical Center.Red bone marrow vs. yellow bone marrow.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Bone marrow transplantation.UCLA Health.Becoming a bone marrow donor.Moulopoulos, LA, Koutoulidis V.Normal bone marrow: anatomy, function, conversion, and reconversion.In: Moulopoulos LA, Koutoulidis V, eds.Bone Marrow MRI. Springer; 2015: 1–6. doi:10.1007/978-88-470-5316-8_1National Cancer Institute.Structure of bone tissue.UCSF.What is bone marrow?.Peconic Bay Medical Center.Red bone marrow vs. yellow bone marrow.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Bone marrow transplantation.
UCLA Health.Becoming a bone marrow donor.
Moulopoulos, LA, Koutoulidis V.Normal bone marrow: anatomy, function, conversion, and reconversion.In: Moulopoulos LA, Koutoulidis V, eds.Bone Marrow MRI. Springer; 2015: 1–6. doi:10.1007/978-88-470-5316-8_1
National Cancer Institute.Structure of bone tissue.
UCSF.What is bone marrow?.
Peconic Bay Medical Center.Red bone marrow vs. yellow bone marrow.
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