What Are Blood Stem Cells?
Blood stem cells are found in your bone marrow (the spongy tissue inside your bones). Stem cells can form different blood cells with unique functions, like:
- Red blood cells (erythrocytes) - carry oxygen to the body tissues
- White blood cells (leukocytes) - help the body fight infection
- Platelets - help prevent bleeding by making blood clot
- More stem cells
What is a Stem Cell Transplant?
A stem cell transplant is a procedure where blood stem cells are given to a patient to treat certain diseases such as blood cancers.
- There are different types of blood stem cell transplants: Autologous stem cell transplants use blood stem cells previously collected from the patient.
- Allogeneic stem cell transplants use blood stem cells provided by a donor. The donor may be a relative (for example, a sibling) or an unrelated donor identified from a world donor registry.
- Syngeneic stem cell transplants use blood stem cells provided by an identical twin.
The stem cells used for the transplant may come from bone marrow, peripheral blood (blood circulating in the veins or bloodstream), or cord blood (from newborn baby umbilical cord and placenta).
The type of transplant you will have depends on your disease and your doctor’s recommendation for the best type of treatment.
See the sections on autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants for more information.
