Too few healthy blood cells
The bone marrow can become sick in both adults and children. This can cause leukaemia.
Other patients are born with an abnormality in their bone marrow stem cells.
In these patients, the bone marrow is unable to produce sufficient numbers of healthy blood cells. As a result, patients may suffer from serious anaemia and experience bruising on the skin and bleeding. They may also be susceptible to infection.
A cure is now possible
Patients with these types of diseases know that they are seriously ill. Previously, there was no definitive treatment for the majority of them. But now there is a chance that their lives can be saved. A cure is possible by transplanting stem cells from a healthy donor to the patient.
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.