Bone marrow
What is bone marrow?
Bone marrow is the factory that produces the blood in our body. Bone marrow is a tissue that is very similar to blood and is found in the hollow bones of our body, such as in the pelvis and the breastbone. Our bone marrow contains the blood stem cells, which are the parental cells for all of the different cells in our blood. We have three types of blood cells: white blood cells, red blood cells and blood platelets. All three have their own individual function.
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What happens when the bone marrow gets sick?
The bone marrow can become sick in both adults and children. This can cause leukaemia.
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Treatment
Stem cells can be harvested from the bone marrow, and for the past few years, it has been possible to harvest them both from blood and from the umbilical cord blood. If the transplantation is successful, the donor’s stem cells will grow in the patient’s own bone marrow cavities, where they can begin to produce healthy blood cells again.
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