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Treatment

Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant

What is a bone marrow transplant for children?

A bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a treatment for children with certain types of cancer or other diseases. The goal of BMT is to replace a child’s diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow.

Bone marrow is the spongy material in the center of the bones that makes all types of blood cells, including young blood cells called stem cells. In BMT, stem cells are filtered, and then put back into the same child. Or they are put into another sick child. These stem cells will grow and become new and healthy bone marrow. Transplanted stem cells are called the graft.

There are different types of BMT based on how the healthy stem cells are collected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Types of Bone Marrow Transplants

Autologous bone marrow transplant

Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant

Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant

About This Treatment

What specialists will manage my child's bone marrow transplant?

Why might my child need a bone marrow transplant?

What are the risks of a bone marrow transplant for a child?

Pre and Post Operative Care

How do I help my child get ready for a bone marrow transplant?

What happens during a bone marrow transplant for a child?

What happens after a bone marrow transplant for a child?

Meet the Bone Marrow Transplant Providers

Patient Stories

  • Convenient Care for Charlotte

    When Charlotte was a toddler, a respiratory illness led to a diagnosis of a rare and dangerous immune deficiency called ICF syndrome. A bone marrow transplant at age 5 at Children’s National helped save her life.

Departments that Offer Bone Marrow Transplant

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    Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

    Whether your child needs a simple blood test or more advanced laboratory procedure, we understand it can be a frightening experience for a child and difficult for parents.

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