FAQ About Becoming a Living Bone Marrow or Stem Cell Donor

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FAQ About Becoming a Living Bone Marrow or Stem Cell Donor

What can I do to help?
What are the criteria to become a living bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell donor?
Where do I begin and how do I join the registry?
What are the steps of registration?
How are donors matched to recipients?
What does HLA stand for and can you explain the typing process?
What are my chances of being matched with a recipient?
How long does it usually take to be matched?
How many times can one donate their bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells?
What are other ways I can do to help if I am not candidate to be a living donor?

1. What can I do to help?
You can start by looking into becoming a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell donor. If it strikes you as somethign you would like to do, join the bone marrow donor registry! After you do that, you may want to look into other forms of living donations such as whole blood, platelets, double red cell or plasma donation. It may take you anywhere from a few months to many years to be called by the National Marrow Donor Program to tell you that you are a match. Why not help out by regularly donating blood products?

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2. What are the criteria to become a living bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell donor?

You must be between the ages of 18 and 60
You must be in general good health
You must not have HIV or AIDS or be at risk for HIV or AIDS
You must never have had a serious illness or disease like cancer, heart or lung disease, Type 1 diabetes, active asthma, liver disease, etc.
You must have good clotting ability. If you have had a bleeding disorder or issue.
You must not have had piercings, tattoos or blood transfusions in the last 12 months as this may increase your chances of having the HIV virus. HIV can remain dormant and not show up on your test if you have contracted it in the last 12 months.
You must not have ever taken human growth hormone or etretinate (Tegison™), a drug taken for the treatment of psoriasis. Taking HGH increases the chances of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Studies show that etretinate, suspected of causing severe birth defects in infants of women who have taken it, may be detectable in blood for long periods of time after the drug has been discontinued. For this reason, you are not eligible if you have taken etretinate.
You must not have taken drugs by needle if they were not prescribed to you by a physician. You also should not have ever shared needles with anyone.
You must not have ever had a negative reaction to General or Regional anesthesia.
You must be willing to undergo the procedure to harvest your bone marrow. Although you are never obligated at any time to have surgery, backing out at the last minute can possibly cause the recipient to become very ill and possibly die.

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3. Where do I begin and how do I join the registry?
Please see our Join The Registry section for more information on how to join the registry.

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4. What are the steps of registration?
Please see our Join The Registry section for more information on how to join the registry.

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5. How are donors matched to recipients?
Your sample's first matching attempt is done with a Human Leukocyte Antigen, or HLA, test--also known as a histocompatibility test. It is a form of tissue type matching which is necessary in an acceptable donor/recipient relationship. The leukocytes (WBCs) are isolated from your blood sample and on the surface of these cells are found the the HLA molecules.

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6. What does HLA stand for and can you explain the typing process?
HLA stands for Human Leukocyte Antigen. There are 6 major HLA molecule types (HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DR, HLA-DQ, and HLA-DP). If you match all 6 with the recipient you are very lucky and may be the patient's best hope for surviving. Although 4 or 5 out of 6 HLA matches have resulted in a transplant, ideally a 6 out of 6 match is best for the patient. The risks increase for the recipient with less than a perfect match. If you are not a good match, the probability of a life threatening response to the incompatibility and will result in graft rejection and/or Graft-versus-Host disease (GVHD). This can increase the chances of very severe sickness (sepsis and infection) and death for the recipient.

Class I Human Leukocyte Antigen molecules (HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C) are detected on the outer surface of the leukocyte cells (WBCs) found in your blood sample. They are basically your body's first line of defense when it comes to invading foreign bodies. It is the antigens which determine if something belongs there or not, so to speak. When you have similar tissue types you are considered compatible and suitable for transplant. The Preliminary HLA- A, B, C Typing test (Class I Antigens) is what your initial sample will undergo. If your sample is hopeful, then you will be contacted and upgraded to "potential match."

You will then give another sample which will undergo a Class II Antigen ( HLA-DR, HLA-DQ, and HLA-DP) typing test. This test is a little more expensive and in-depth than the preliminary test but the recipient's insurance will pay for it. This test will require 2 10cc vials of whole blood in yellow top ACD tube, basically two of what you had withdrawn before. It is the Class II test that will determine if you are a 6 out of 6 match.

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7. What are my chances of being matched with a recipient?
I have heard reports between 1:20,000 and as high as 1:100,000. Minority groups are far less likely to find an allogeneic match. reason being, minority groups are under represented. I cannot express enough the importance in joining the NBMDP if you are African-American, Indian, Latin-American, American-Indian, Pacific-Islander, Asian, Asian-American, of Jewish descent, etc.

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8. How long does it usually take to be matched?
I have been told once you are entered into the system it can take as little as 24 to 48 hours if someone of your HLA type is waiting. However this does not mean you area perfect match, just that you are a 3 out of 6 match and will undergo an additional HLA-2 test. After that it is a matter of who needs your bone marrow. It may take weeks, it may take years--let's just hope it happens!

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9. How many times can one donate their bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells?
While we are lucky to be called once to donate, it is rare to be called twice. rarer still to be able to donate 3 times. The average is once, but how lucky are you if you get called twice!!

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10. What are other ways I can do to help if I am not candidate to be a living donor?
If you are not eligible to be a bone marrow donor, check if you are eligible to be a whole blood, platelets or plasma donor. There are many in need of blood products and if you are able to donate regularly, you will be doing so many a favor.

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