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Donor Q&A
Q: How do I sign up to be a volunteer donor?
A: You must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and in general good health. A
simple blood test given through an authorized NMDP Donor
Center or Recruitment
Group is needed to obtain your HLA tissue type so it can be entered onto
the National Registry.
Related Links: Join
the Registry
Q: If there is not an NMDP Donor Center or Recruitment Group in my
area, how can I join the NMDP Registry?
A: Call the NMDP Donor Center or Recruitment Group nearest you. They may have
a satellite office near you or a donor recruitment drive coming up in your
area. Also, some Donor Centers will mail out blood test kits after you fill
out consent forms and return them to the Donor Center.
Related Links: How
to Join
Q: Will it cost anything to be a donor?
A: The cost for HLA tissue typing ranges from $45 to $96 depending on the
Donor Center, the level of testing performed, and the laboratory that analyzes
the test results. Some Donor Centers can defer the cost of your testing by
asking for a donation of whole blood or blood components. There also may be
funding available or a waiting list through the Donor Center. After the initial
testing, all medical expenses are covered by the recipient or the recipient's
insurance. Please contact your local Donor Center for further information.
Related Links: The
Cost to Join
Q: Describe the stem cell donation process.
A: When you donate marrow, it is removed with a surgical needle from the back
of your pelvic bone. All marrow donors are given either general or regional
anesthesia. Usually, four to eight tiny incisions are made in the pelvic area.
These incisions are so small that stitches are not necessary. The procedure
lasts between 45 and 90 minutes. Marrow is constantly regenerating itself
and is replaced within several weeks.
For a donation of peripheral blood stem cells, the donor receives one injection
of Filgrastim each day for four to five days. Filgrastim is a drug that increases
the number of stem cells released from the bone marrow into the blood stream.
The stem cells are collected from the blood stream through a process called
apheresis. During apheresis, which is done at a blood center or a hospital,
your blood is removed through a sterile needle placed in a vein in one arm
and passed through an apheresis machine that separates out the stem cells.
The remaining blood, minus the stem cells, is returned through a sterile needle
placed in a vein in the other arm.
Related Links: Marrow
Donation
PBSC Donation
Q: What are the risks for the stem cell donor?
A: Bone marrow donation is a surgical procedure. There is minimal risk involved.
Serious complications are rare but could include anesthesia reactions, infection,
transfusion reactions, or injury at the needle insertion sites. With a marrow
donation, donors can expect to feel some soreness in the lower back for several
days or longer following the donation.
Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donors may experience bone pain, muscle
pain, nausea, insomnia and fatigue while receiving injections of Filgrastim.
Bone pain and headaches have been the two most frequently reported symptoms.
These effects disappear promptly when the collection is complete. During the
apheresis procedure some donors experience a tingling feeling from the anticoagulant
used to keep the cells from clotting. Others experience chills. These effects
are relieved after the donation is complete.
Related Links: Marrow
Donation PBSC
Donation Monitoring
Donor & Patient Safety
Q: How do I become a donor if I live outside the United States?
A: The NMDP has several International
Donor Centers as well as Cooperative
Registries throughout the world. Return to Top
Q: Can I get tested for a specific patient (i.e., family member or friend)?
A: The NMDP maintains a Registry of unrelated potential donors willing to
help any patient that they might match. Individuals can be tested through
the NMDP and ask for a copy of their results at the time of testing. If they
are interested in getting tested only for a specific friend or family member,
they will need to have the blood test done privately. For private testing,
contact the Transplant Center or the patient's transplant physician for suggestions.
Q: I've already been tested for a family member and would like my results
added to the NMDP Registry. How can I do this?
A: Obtain a copy of your HLA tissue typing and contact the NMDP Donor
Center in your area for information on joining
the Registry. The donor center will have you fill out some health
history forms and a consent form. The Donor Center will then place your
results into the Registry so you will be cross-referenced for any patient
searching the Registry for an unrelated stem cell donor.
Q: I am already on the Registry, but have moved. How can I update my contact
information?
A: Please see our online Change of Address form. Return to Top
Q: How can I verify that I am on the Registry?
A: Each year, the NMDP and its Network of Donor Centers mail out an annual
publication, The Marrow Messenger, to all potential stem cell volunteers registered
through the NMDP. If you received the publication, you are on The NMDP Registry.
In addition to this annual publication, some Donor Centers send newsletters
and mailings throughout the year. If you have never received The Marrow Messenger,
but have moved since you originally joined the Registry, you may still be
listed but would need to contact the NMDP Donor
Center where you were tested in order to verify this.
Related Links: Confirm
You Are On The Registry
Q: Why does a person have to be 18 to be a donor? Can't my parents sign the
consent form for me?
A: NMDP standards require that volunteer marrow donors must be between the
ages of 18 and 60. This is standard medical practice. The reason an individual
must be 18 to donate marrow is because the donation is done through a surgical
procedure and the person undergoing the procedure must be able to give his
or her informed consent. A guardian or parent is not able to sign a release
or give consent because unrelated marrow donation is a voluntary procedure
and is not beneficial or lifesaving to the donor. Because the patient's physician
may request either donation procedure, a volunteer must be medically eligible
for both procedures.
Q: If I'm over 60, why can't I be a donor?
A: The NMDP recognizes that chronological age does not necessarily correlate
to physiological age. However, the NMDP must rely on chronological age when
determining eligibility. In addition, with age comes a small increase in the
risk of side effects from anesthesia. And recent NMDP studies reveal that
patients receiving stem cell transplants from older donors have a somewhat
poorer survival rate. These age guidelines are meant to protect the safety
of the donor and provide the best possible cure for the patient. They are
not meant to discriminate. Return to Top
Q: How do I get involved in organizing a recruitment drive and/or
ordering NMDP materials (brochures, fliers, t-shirts, etc.)?
A: If you are interested in organizing a drive to recruit volunteer stem cell
donors for the Registry, or in ordering materials, please contact the NMDP
Donor
Center or Recruitment
Group in your area. The Donor Centers have staff to assist you in setting
up a drive. All of the Donor Centers keep a supply of NMDP materials for public
distribution and can reorder if necessary.
Related Links: How
to Help Request
Materials
Potential Donor Information
Thank you for your interest in becoming a bone marrow/blood stem cell donor through the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry. In order to join the NMDP, you must be a healthy eligible blood donor between the ages of 18 and 59 in good general health and with no chronic diseases. You may wish tovisit www.marrow.org for more information on our specific eligibility requirements. Please keep in mind is that the NMDP registry is based on anonymity. By entering our registry, you make yourself available to all patients searching the database for their miracle match
.
The first step in the registration process is a simple blood donation of either
one 7ml tube or several drops of blood spotted onto a filter paper card. At
the time of typing, you must fill out a consent and registration form and
answer some questions about your medical history. The whole process should
take about 30 minutes. After this typing test is completed, you remain
in our registry until your 61st birthday.
There are several different ways to enter the NMDP Registry. The first
is to come in to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. It costs us $65.00
per donor to have the HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) test done. We receive
some money from the government as part of an effort to recruit more donors
of ethnic minority. This funding initiative is a policy of the National Marrow
Donor Program. Therefore, if you are not Caucasian, this $65.00 fee is waived.
If you are unable to afford the fee, there may be other options to defray
some of the
cost of the tissue typing.
The second way to join is to donate platelets three times here at Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute's Kraft Family Blood Donor Center. Platelets are the component
of the blood that cause clotting and patients undergoing radiation and/or
chemotherapy treatments need regular infusions. Because platelets have a shelf
life of only 5 days, new donors are always needed. For more information
on platelet donation, please call the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center at 617/632-3206.
The third method is to attend a bone marrow drive. Drives are held periodically
throughout the New England area. You can contact our office, the Red Cross
at 1-800-462-9400, or visit www.bonemarrowtest.com for more information on
upcoming drives.
When you become a donor through the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP),
you are participating in an effort to give patients with leukemia and many
other life-threatening blood diseases a second chance at life. If your Human
Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) are a match for a patient, you may be asked to go
through with one of two processes, Bone Marrow Aspiration or Peripheral Blood
Stem Cell (PBSC) donation.
Both procedures require initial blood tests to confirm your match, and a complete
physical workup, including X-Rays, EKG, etc. These tests are completed in
conjunction with an information session where you meet with our doctors and
discuss both the requested procedure and your medical history. For PBSC donors
this process takes 3 - 4 hours, for marrow 5 - 6 hours.
An overview of the two collection procedures follows:
Marrow - The day of the procedure you come to the hospital early in the morning,
and remain until about 4 PM that day. You go under either general or local
anesthesia, and your bone marrow is removed through a hollow needle inserted
into your iliac crest (tailbone). Recovery time is very dependent upon
you, but we ask that you refrain from any heavy lifting or exercise for at
least
the next few days. Your timeframe for returning to work and resuming a normal
level of activity is really up to you. People usually compare the residual
feeling to that of bruising their tailbone.
PBSC - For the four days prior to the procedure, you receive injections of
a growth factor called Filgrastim. You need to receive the injections at the
hospital on days one and five, but days 2, 3 and 4 you can self-inject and
do not need to come into the hospital. The actual PBSC procedure can take
4 - 6 hours over one to two days. During this time, your blood is taken
out of one arm through a sterile needle and tubing, sent through a machine
where the stem cells are separated out, and then returned to you through your
other arm.The duration of this procedure depends on the amount of product
needed and differs
for each donor.
I hope this information helps you make a decision. You can find more information
at www.marrow.org, by sending us an email
at nmdpdonor@partners.org, or
by calling our main office line, (866) 875-DFCI (3324) or (617) 632-2561.
If you would like to make an appointment, please give us a call- anyone who
picks up the phone in our office will be able to answer any questions you
may have.
Thanks for your interest in the NMDP!
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