OBJECTIVES: I. Determine whether mixed or full donor chimerism can be safely established in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with nonmyeloablative conditioning comprised of low dose total body irradiation, followed by allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, followed by unrelated donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI). II. Determine whether mixed chimerism can be safely converted to full donor chimerism in patients treated with DLI. III. Determine the potential efficacy of this regimen in AML patients who are in first remission.