Bone Marrow Transplants

To the Editor.— We read with interest the letter by Dr Furman ( Pediatrics. 1989;84:195), who played "the devil9s advocate" and suggested that "bone marrow transplant in its current state may be neither ethical nor imperative as a therapy for dying children." As a pediatric resident "her eyes were opened" and she commented at great length about the difficult ordeal that children go through, including pain, isolation, mucositis, and long-term side effects. Additional questions were raised about parents9 ability to understand enough about transplantation to make a decision "that is truly in the child9s best interest."