does anyone know anything about bone marrow donation??

Question

ive read and heard so much about it over the last few years and feel strongly enough to consider doing it but dont know what it entails.would love to hear from anyone that has done it before?its heartbreakiong the stories you hear of people dying because of lack of donors,ive given blood for years but feel i could do more.any info would be great.thankyou

Answer 1

It is becoming increasingly common now for stem cells to be obtained from the blood rather than bone marrow taken. This involves having injections for a few days (to increase the numbers of stem cells in the blood) then being connected to a machine called a cells separator. The cell separator will harvest just the stem cells and return the rest of your blood to your circulation. This is called peripheral blood stem cell harvesting - it doesn't involve pain and requires minimal recoevery time.

At the initial stage of becoming a volunteer all that is involved is giving a small blood sample. You can change your mind at any time but you must realize that if you did this after they have started to condition the patient for the transplant there is very little chance of that patient surviving. If you have serious doubts whether you would go through with it, then it is better not to be on the register as you would only give false hope.

It is only a very small percentage of all the people on the register who ever actually donate stem cells. The need for a very large number of volunteers is to give patients a fighting chance of finding a donor. You will be particularly welcome if you are a young male from an ethnic minority. Young because there is an upper age limit and also because transplants from younger donors carry lower risks of certain complications. Male because male patients tend to have better results when their donor is male (makes no difference for women) and because there has never (yet) been a case of man being found to be pregnant when he was needed as a donor. Ethinic minority donors are needed because statistically a person is more likely to find a person with a matching tissue type from within their own ethnic population and the overwhelming majority of current volunteers on databases are Caucasian.

I am a haematology biomedical scientist by training with an MSc in Ciinical Oncology.

Answer 2

You can sometimes sign up as a bone marrow donor person when you go to give blood. But it costs money to get you screened as a donor. Then when you go to donate bone marrow to a person that they matched you with they put you in the hospital put you under anesthesia and stick a big hollow needle into your pelvic bones and draw out the bone marrow. It probably hurts really bad when you wake up and you are down for a few days. Hence why alot of people don't donate their bone marrow. But yes it is a nice gift to the person on the recieving end. And it does save lives if they can find a perfect match.

Answer 3

Iam on the bone marrow register, well done for thinking about it.
I had some blood samples taken for initial typing, then when they get a possible match the ask for more blood, if that matches they get you in as a day patient, they'll either give you a epidural or full GA and they then draw bone marrow out of your pelvis. Some risks are involved as with any minor surgical procedure but these are minimal. Pain is expected but i think any pain would be worth just to help one person, speak to your practice nurse who would be happy to put you in touch with the right people.

Answer 4

It relies upon. they might've replaced, or they might've no longer. in the event that they have been truly truly truly abusive, i'd take a seat and communicate with them approximately my formative years. i'd make it appear like a scene in a action picture! If all of it broke right down to them asserting sorry, us replacing hugs and kisses, i'd donate in a heartbeat! till you won't have the capacity to stay devoid of bone marrow or a number of it long gone... If i'd die, i'd think of two times. in the event that they weren't THAT abusive, i assume i'd donate. yet i'd nonetheless communicate over with them. i'd have an open communique the two way. Have a sturdy day!

Answer 5

Sorry I'm not really an expert but I think you donate it at the same time as you give blood.

http://www.blood.co.uk/pages/marrow_info.html

Good Luck and good for you!

Answer 6

http://www.blood.co.uk/pages/marrow_info.html