The bone marrow to be transplanted (called a bone marrow graft) is harvested from the donor in the operating room through suction punctures in the iliac crest (hip bone). The extracted marrow is processed and administered to the patient within a maximum of 24 hours.
If peripheral stem cells are transplanted, blood is collected through a central venous catheter connected to a machine that selects peripheral stem cells. The cells thus harvested are frozen at -180 degrees C and administered to the patient at the appropriate time.