All of the cell types in the peripheral blood and some cells in every tissue of the body are derived from hematopoietic (hemo: blood; poiesis: creation) stem cells. If the hematopoietic stem cell is damaged and can no longer function (., due to the nuclear accident at Chernobyl), a person would survive 2–4 weeks in the absence of extraordinary support measures. With the clinical use of hematopoietic stem cells, tens of thousands of lives are saved each year (Chap. 108). Stem cells produce tens of billions of blood cells daily from a stem cell pool that is estimated to be.
