Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Morphologically proven (from bone marrow aspirate smears or touch preps of marrow
biopsy) acute myelogenous leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome of 1 of the following
subtypes:

- Acute myeloblastic leukemia (M1, M2)

- Acute promyelocytic leukemia (M3)

- Acute myelomonocytic leukemia (M4)

- Acute monocytic leukemia (M5)

- Acute erythroleukemia (M6)

- Acute megakaryocytic leukemia (M7)

- Refractory anemia

- Refractory anemia with excess blasts

- Refractory anemia with excess blasts in transformation

- Refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts

- Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia

- In remission or in early relapse as defined by less than 20% blast cells in the
marrow or overt active acute myeloid leukemia

- Suitable marrow donor, defined as a sibling donor matched at the HLA-A, HLA-B, and
HLA-D/DR locus nonreactive in bidirectional mixed lymphocyte culture or a donor who
is mismatched at 1 antigen loci

- Active CNS disease allowed

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

- 16 to physiologic 60

Performance status:

- ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

- Not specified

Hematopoietic:

- Not specified

Hepatic:

- Bilirubin no greater than 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN) unless due to Gilbert's
disease

- SGOT no greater than 3 times ULN

Renal:

- Creatinine no greater than 2.0 mg/dL

Cardiovascular:

- Cardiac ejection fraction normal

Pulmonary:

- FEV_1 at least 50% of predicted

- DLCO at least 50% of predicted

Other:

- HIV negative

- No evidence of persistent infection

- No concurrent organ damage or medical problems that would preclude study therapy

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

- Not specified

Chemotherapy:

- Not specified

Endocrine therapy:

- Not specified

Radiotherapy:

- Not specified

Surgery:

- Not specified

Other:

- No concurrent antibiotics