Your doctors use national treatment guidelines to help decide on the most appropriate treatment for you. A donor stem-cell transplant is a specialized treatment. It may increase your chances of being cured of our cancer or leukemia or of going into remission. But you will have to weigh this against the risks.

The primary risks include:

• serious infection and bleeding
• graft-versus-host disease
• graft failure (the donor's stem cells don't produce new blood cells)

You might have a lot of questions about the transplant. You can talk about this with your specialist. It is important to have all the information you may need about the benefits, risks, and possible side effects. This will help you make a decision. Your specialist can also give you information on participating in a research trial.

If you want a second opinion on having a transplant, ask your specialist. Take your time before arriving at a decision. You may also wish to talk to your family or friends.