how to donate my bone marrow

What is the average life expectancy after bone marrow transplant?

Apr 23, 2021 · Bone Marrow Donation Marrow donation is a surgical procedure done in a hospital: You receive anesthesia. Doctors use special, hollow needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of your pelvic bones. You may receive a transfusion of your own previously donated blood. After you recover from the anesthesia, you typically return home the same day.

What are the risks of bone marrow donation?

If you agree to donate, the patient's doctor will request that you donate either peripheral blood stem cell s (PBSC) or marrow. The doctor chooses the donation method that is best for the patient. If you are asked to donate, call the telephone …

Who can donate stem cells or bone marrow?

Bone marrow donation is a surgical procedure that takes place in a hospital operating room. Doctors use needles to withdraw liquid marrow (where the body’s blood-forming cells are made) from both sides of the back of your pelvic bone. You will be given anesthesia and feel no pain during the donation. After donation, your liquid marrow is transported to the patient’s location …

What is involved in donating bone marrow?

Bone marrow donation is a surgical procedure that takes place in a hospital operating room. Doctors use needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of your pelvic bone. Donors receive anesthesia and feel no pain during the donation.

How painful is it to be a bone marrow donor?

Some donors said the experience was more painful than they expected; others said it was less painful. Some donors describe the pain as similar to achy hip bones or falling on their buttocks. Others say it feels more like a strained muscle in the back. The ache may last a few days to several weeks.

What are the requirements to be a bone marrow donor?

How old do you have to be to donate bone marrow? A person must be at least 18 to donate because donation is a medical procedure and the person must be able to give legal informed consent. Also, because it's a voluntary procedure a guardian or parent can't sign a release or give consent for someone under age 18.

How much can you make donating bone marrow?

You will undergo a physical exam to ensure you're healthy and eligible to donate. You can donate two times every seven days, and while all donor centers have their own pay schedules and bonuses, you can easily earn up to $4,800 per year.Oct 5, 2021

Can I donate bone marrow to myself?

There are two types of bone marrow donation: Autologous bone marrow transplant is when people donate their own bone marrow. "Auto" means self. Allogenic bone marrow transplant is when another person donates bone marrow.Jul 28, 2020

What are the risks of donating bone marrow?

The risks of this type of stem cell donation are minimal. Before the donation, you'll get injections of a medicine that increases the number of stem cells in your blood. This medicine can cause side effects, such as bone pain, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, nausea and vomiting.May 30, 2020

What happens if I donate bone marrow?

Common side effects of marrow donation reported 2 days after donation: Back or hip pain 84%, Fatigue 61%, Throat pain 32%, Muscle pain 24%, Insomnia 15%, Headache 14%, Dizziness 10%, Loss of appetite 10%, Nausea 9%. Learn more about what happens after you donate.

Can you donate bone marrow if you have a tattoo?

Tattoos & piercings shouldn't be an issue. If you're called to be a donor, you will be carefully evaluated for possible signs/symptoms of infection. If you are identified as a match for someone and you got a piercing or a tattoo within the last four months, you'd need to let our team know.

How long is bone marrow donation recovery?

20 daysBone marrow donation recovery: The median time to full recovery for a marrow donation is 20 days.

Is be the match Real?

​ Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), a nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research through its research program, CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), so more lives can be saved ...

What are the chances of finding a bone marrow match?

A patient's likelihood of finding a matching bone marrow donor or cord blood unit on the Be The Match Registry® ranges from 29% to 79% depending on ethnic background.

How do they test for bone marrow match?

Before a person receives an ALLO transplant, a matching donor must be found using human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing. This special blood test analyzes HLAs, which are specific proteins on the surface of white blood cells and other cells that make each person's tissue type unique.Jan 5, 2017

When You are Contacted

A Be The Match Registry representative will contact you if your tissue type matches a patient needing a life-saving transplant. However, before you can donate your bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, you will:

Donation of Bone Marrow or PBSC

After you agree to donate your bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, the patient begins preparing for the transplant. By the time you begin the donation, the patient has finished treatment to prepare for the transplant and can no longer produce any healthy blood cells. The patient needs your healthy cells to live.

Your Safety is Important

The NMDP wants to ensure your safety before and after you donate your cells. Your Be The Match Registry* donor center coordinator will follow up with you until you are able to return to your normal activities.

How much time will the donation process take?

Actual donors and donor medical staff share their bone marrow donation experience. Watch now.

Two donation methods: Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) and marrow

If you agree to donate, the patient's doctor will request that you donate either peripheral blood stem cell s (PBSC) or marrow. The doctor chooses the donation method that is best for the patient.

Step 1: Get ready to donate

Once you join the Be The Match Registry ®, you will be included in patient searches every day. If you match a patient, you will be contacted to confirm that you are willing to donate.

Step 2: Donate PBSC or bone marrow

There are two methods of donation: PBSC and bone marrow. The patient’s doctor will choose which one is best for the patient.

Step 3: Recovery and follow-up

The time it takes for a donor to recover varies. It depends on the person and type of donation. Most donors are able to return to work, school and other activities within 1 to 7 days after donation. Be The Match ® considers donor safety a top priority and will follow up with you regularly until you are able to resume normal activity.

What Is Donated Bone Marrow Used For?

There are many reasons why somebody might need a bone marrow transplant.

What Are The Requirements For Donating Bone Marrow?

Not everyone is able to donate their bone marrow, as there are some guidelines that need to be kept in mind.

What Should You Bring with You to the Donation Center?

There isn’t really anything you need to take with, especially if you’re doing the surgical procedure.

Bone Marrow Donation Process

Before you donate, you’ll go through an information session in which the potential risks and side effects will be detailed. You will also be told about the entire process. Usually, the meeting is about 1 1/2 hours. During this period, you’re able to ask any questions or raise any concerns before moving on with the process.

Are There Side Effects & Risks?

There are risks associated with PBSC, but less than 1% of donors experience any serious complications.

Bone Marrow Donation Recovery

Generally, for donations through both PBSC and surgery, you’re able to return to your daily tasks, such as work, school, etc. within a few days. But you might have a bit of discomfort.

How Often Can I Donate Bone Marrow?

Since your bone marrow and stem cells are able to regenerate completely, you’re able to donate various times throughout your lifetime. It takes 4-6 weeks for your bone marrow to fully return, and only a couple of days for the stem cells.

Overview

If you are planning to donate stem cells, you have agreed to allow doctors to draw bone marrow stem cells from either your blood or bone marrow for transplantation.

Why it's done

Every year, thousands of people in the U.S. are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases, such as leukemia or lymphoma, for which a stem cell transplant is the best or the only treatment. Donated blood stem cells are needed for these transplants.

Risks

Bone marrow stem cells are collected from the posterior section of the pelvic bone under general anesthesia. The most serious risk associated with donating bone marrow involves the use and effects of anesthesia during surgery. After the surgery, you might feel tired or weak and have trouble walking for a few days.

How you prepare

If you want to donate stem cells, you can talk to your doctor or contact the National Marrow Donor Program, a federally funded nonprofit organization that keeps a database of volunteers who are willing to donate.

What you can expect

Collecting stem cells from bone marrow is a type of surgery and is done in the operating room. You'll be given an anesthetic for the procedure. Needles will be inserted through the skin and into the bone to draw the marrow out of the bone. This process usually takes one to two hours.

Results

Recovery times vary depending on the individual and type of donation. But most blood stem cell donors are able to return to their usual activities within a few days to a week after donation.

What you need to know about bone marrow transplants

A bone marrow transplant replaces diseased bone marrow with healthy tissue, usually stem cells found in the blood. That’s why bone marrow transplants are also called stem cell transplants. In an allogeneic transplantation (ALLO transplant), blood stem cells from the bone marrow are transplanted from a donor into the patient.

How a match is made

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has a registry of potential donors that might be the match a patient needs. Here’s how the donation process works:

The bone marrow donation process

If you agree to donate bone marrow, you’ll likely do what’s called a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection. Here’s how it works:

How to donate bone marrow

For a bone marrow transplant to be successful, the donor and the recipient have to be well matched. Unlike matching blood types, matching bone marrow stem cells is a bit more complicated.

Bone marrow donation procedure

If you are a match for someone needing a transplant, you will start the process of donating bone marrow stem cells. This process is the same whether you are donating for a relative or for someone using the National Marrow Donor Program registry.

Bone marrow donation recovery

As you prepare to donate, you may be worried about possible bone marrow donation risks. The vast majority of donors experience few side effects — most of which are mild. Most donors report feeling completely recovered within a few weeks of their donation.

Joining the national bone marrow registry

The registry needs donors of all races and ethnicities to provide the best matches for the most patients. They accept donors between the ages of 18 and 60. But because bone marrow transplant is most successful with younger donors, people ages 18 to 44 are preferred.

Contact us

If you are interested in donating bone marrow to a relative in our care, please contact our Adult Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapies Program at 310-206-6909.