Donating bone marrow is a confidential procedure that carefully selects the best donor match for a patient. The steps and requirements to donating are for the health and safety of the patient and donor. According to the 2010 statistics published by The National Marrow Donor Program, there are 45,000 to 50,000 bone marrow transplants are done each year around the world.
Eligibility Requirements
The first step to donating bone marrow is to sign up with the National Marrow Donor Program's Be The Match Registry. To be eligible for donation there are medical requirements that the donor has to pass. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, people cannot donate if they have HIV/AIDS; asthma that requires regular use of steroids; autoimmune diseases; chronic back pain that requires regular pain medication; a herniated, bulging or slipped disc in the past two years; a spine fracture caused by bone disease or due to an accident within the past two years; rods and pins for scoliosis; a hip or pelvis fracture; any type of bleeding problem; breathing problems such as COPD or emphysema; sleep apnea; cystic fibrosis; cancer; heart disease, hepatitis C or B or are a carrier of hepatitis; chronic kidney problems, liver disease; chronic Lyme disease; had a heart, lung, liver or kidney transplant; or have been diagnosed with tuberculosis within the last two years. If the potential donor is overweight or underweight, he also will not be allowed to donate bone marrow. These medical requirements are to protect the health of the potential donor and of the patient.
Registration Kit
If the donor passes the medical requirements, then he must fill out the online form and order the registration kit. Once the donor receives the registration kit, instructions will be provided to send in a swab of cells from the inside of the donor's cheek. The donor then mails the registration kit back in the package provided.
Donation Procedure
A medical evaluation including blood tests, x-rays and EKGs is done to ensure the health of the potential donor, reports the Mayo Clinic. If the potential donor is deemed a good candidate then the bone marrow harvest will be scheduled. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, there are two ways to donate: marrow donation and peripheral blood stem cells. The marrow donation is done in the operating room because the donor will be under general anesthesia, so \she will not feel any discomfort. The bone marrow is taken from the donor's pelvic bones. Once the procedure is complete, the donor stays in the hospital overnight. The donor may feel some discomfort around the hip; Tylenol can help alleviate any discomfort. The second type of donation is peripheral blood stem cells, or PBSC, donation and is a non-surgical procedure that is done in a blood center or an outpatient unit of a hospital. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, for five days before the harvest, donors are given an injection drug called filgrastim, which increases the amount of blood-forming cells. On the day of harvest, blood is taken from one arm and passes through a machine. This machine separates the blood-forming cells, and then returns the blood back to the donor in the other arm. Donors can have headaches or muscle aches from the filgrastim that disappear after the donation. Donors usually feel recovered within two weeks.
