The­re are two dif­fe­rent ways to obtain stem cells for transplantation.
In the case of peri­phe­ral blood stem cell dona­ti­on, the donor is given a growth fac­tor for
seve­ral days to encou­ra­ge the stem cells to matu­re fas­ter and pass into the blood. The stem
cells are then fil­te­red out of the blood in a simi­lar way to dia­ly­sis. Sin­ce this has now become
the stan­dard method, we no lon­ger tend to talk about bone mar­row trans­plants but rather
(blood) stem cell transplants.
With a bone mar­row dona­ti­on, a long need­le is used to extra­ct some of the bone mar­row from
the pel­vic bone of the donor under gene­ral anes­the­sia. The bone mar­row is quickly
rege­ne­ra­ted by the body.