Bone marrow transplantation.

Bone marrow transplantation is used when the immune and blood-forming systems of the body are malfunctioning or have been severely damaged. Without adequate white blood cells, a person will soon die from infection. Transplantation is an attempt to cure or arrest diseases such as leukemia, cancer, and sickle cell disease and conditions such as brain tumors and hereditary diseases. Bone marrow transplantation is used when all other methods of treatment have failed. The procedure is usually performed on patients who are younger than fifty years old, with the greatest success rates found in children.