Treatment for cancer
Stem cell or bone marrow transplants are treatments for some types of cancer including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. You have them with high dose chemotherapy and sometimes radiotherapy. They are sometimes called stem cell rescue, or bone marrow rescue, or intensive treatment.
Stem cells are collected from the bloodstream, or less often from the bone marrow.
This transplant uses your own stem cells to replace blood cells destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy and other treatments.
When you have a stem cell transplant using another person’s stem cells, it is called an allogeneic transplant.
Find out who can be a stem cell or bone marrow donor, and how to register.
Radiotherapy to the whole body is called total body irradiation or TBI.
The side effects of a stem cell or bone marrow transplant include infection, bleeding, sickness and diarrhoea.
It takes a long time to get over intensive treatment such as a stem cell or bone marrow transplant. You might need to make adjustments in various parts of your life.
There are lots of organisations, support groups and helpful books to help you cope with a transplant and its side effects.
Last reviewed: 09 Nov 2022
Next review due: 09 Nov 2025
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