A brief history of bone marrow transplantation

Bone marrow has been a source of nutrition for many centuries. Although xenotransplants were described in an ancient Irish manuscript, it was not until adverse hematological effects of ionizing radiation were known during World War II that the stimulus for bone marrow transplantation was established. International cooperation and the determination of many scientists/physicians have resulted in the widespread use of transplants to treat leukemias and other hematological and immune disorders. Newer forms of immune modulation are being studied but are unlikely to replace hematopoietic cell transplants.