Additional Information
Links
National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)
Also known as Be The Match Registry has been helping patients receive the transplant they need for more than 20 years. When you register through any local drive, blood center, or home test-kit all of your information will be entered into this national database to be used by any patient in search of a bone marrow donor. NMDP has helped more than 25,000 patients throughout the world receive a transplant for life-threatening diseases. NMDP manages the world’s largest and most diverse Registry of volunteer donors, including more than 60,000 cord blood units.
Asian American Donor Program (AADP)
The AADP is a community non-profit organization geared towards saving lives. Individuals of multi-ethnic descent (Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, African American, Mixed Race) are desperately needed to register as potential marrow/stem cell donors.
FAQs
(from NMDP)
How is a bone marrow match determined?
Doctors look for a donor who matches their patient's tissue type, specifically their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue type. HLAs are proteins — or markers — found on most cells in your body. Your immune system uses these markers to recognize which cells belong in your body and which do not. The closer the match between the patient's HLA markers and yours, the better for the patient.
What happens if I match a patient?
More testing will be done to see if you are the best possible match for the patient. We may ask for another cheek swab or blood sample or we may be able to use a stored sample. Though almost all patient information is confidential, we can tell you the patient's age, gender and disease.
If you are selected as the best donor for the patient, we will schedule an information session so you can learn more about the donation process, risks and side effects. At that time, we can also tell you the type of donation the patient's doctor has requested — either bone marrow or cells collected from the blood, called peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation.
Can I change my mind?
You have the right to change your mind about being a donor at any time. Donating is always voluntary.
If you decide you do not want to donate, let us know right away. We will need to continue the search for another donor without dangerous — even life-threatening — delays for the patient.
How are bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation different?
Donating bone marrow is a surgical procedure done under general or regional anesthesia in a hospital. While a donor receives anesthesia, doctors use needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone.
PBSC donation is a non-surgical procedure done in an outpatient clinic. PBSC donors receive daily injections of a drug called filgrastim for five days, to increase the number of blood-forming cells in the bloodstream. Then, through a process called apheresis, a donor's blood is removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to the donor through the other arm.
Does donating marrow hurt? Are there side effects?
Marrow donation is done under general or regional anesthesia so the donor experiences no pain during the collection procedure.
Discomfort and side effects vary from person to person. Most marrow donors experience some side effects after donation. Common side effects of marrow donation include:
- Lower back pain
- Fatigue
- Stiffness when walking
- Bleeding at the collection site
Are there any risks to marrow donation?
The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) wants to assure donor safety, but no medical procedure is risk-free. The majority (more than 98.5%) of donors feel completely recovered within a few weeks. A small percentage (1.34%) of donors experience a serious complication due to anesthesia or damage to bone, nerve or muscle in their hip region.
The risk of side effects of anesthesia during marrow donation is similar to that during other surgical procedures. Serious side effects of anesthesia are rare. Common side effects of general anesthesia include sore throat (caused by the breathing tube) or mild nausea and vomiting. Common side effects of regional anesthesia are a decrease in blood pressure and a headache after the procedure.
The NMDP and its centers take all the necessary precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of the donor.
What is the risk to the transplant recipient?
While transplantation is a life-saving therapy, not all recipients survive. Sometimes a patient's body cannot withstand the pre-transplant chemotherapy and radiation. Sometimes health complications occur after the transplant.
But for many recipients, a transplant is successful and their best or only option. Your gift gives them hope and a second chance at life.