Bone marrow is a spongy substance found in the center of the bones. It manufactures bone marrow stem cells and other substances, which in turn produce blood ...PatientEducationA-ZWhatIsBoneMarrow?BoneMarrowBonemarrowisaspongysubstancefoundinthecenterofthebones.Itmanufacturesbonemarrowstemcellsandothersubstances,whichinturnproducebloodcells.Eachtypeofbloodcellmadebythebonemarrowhasanimportantjob.Redbloodcellscarryoxygentotissuesinthebody.Plateletsstopbleedingbyhelpingbloodclot.Whitebloodcellsfightinfections.WhiteBloodCellsThreeveryimportanttypesofwhitebloodcellsareessentialtotheproperfunctioningofthebody'simmunesystem,whichfightsinfection:NeutrophilsandMacrophages—Thesewhitebloodcellsfightbacterialandfungalinfectionsby"eating"germsLymphocytes—Thesewhitebloodcellsfightbacterial,viralandfungalinfections.Tlymphocytes,alsocalledTcells,attackvirusesandothergerms.Tcellsfromthedonoralsocanattacktherecipientresultinginareactioncalledgraftversushostdisease.Tcellsfromtherecipientcanrejectthedonorbonemarrowcellresultingingraftfailure.Blymphocytesmakeantibodieswhichhelpdestroygermsinourbody.AlternativeSourcesofBoneMarrowStemCellsAnothersourceofbonemarrowstemcellsisthebloodthatcirculatesintheveinsandarteriesofallnormalpeople.Thesestemcellsareknownasperipheralbloodstemcells(PBSC).PatientsrecoveringfromchemotherapyandhealthypeoplewhoaretreatedwithcertaindrugsthatstimulatethegrowthofthebonemarrowhaverelativelylargenumbersofPBSCintheirblood.ThePBSCcanbecollectedandusedincertainsituationsasasourceofstemcellsfortransplantation.Anothersourceofstemcellsisthebloodfoundintheplacentaofanewbornbabyoncetheumbilicalcordiscut.Umbilicalcordblood(UCB)hasbeensuccessfullyusedasasourceofbonemarrowstemcellsfortransplantationinbothrelatedandunrelatedpatients.UCSFBenioffChildren'sHospitalsmedicalspecialistshavereviewedthisinformation.Itisforeducationalpurposesonlyandisnotintendedtoreplacetheadviceofyourchild'sdoctororotherhealthcareprovider.Weencourageyoutodiscussanyquestionsorconcernsyoumayhavewithyou