Join The National Bone Marrow Donor Program

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Join The National Bone Marrow Donor Program

Joining the National Marrow Donor registry is pretty simple, although depending upon your area's facility it may take a while to get the ball rolling. Here are the steps to be on your way to possibly help save someone's life:

Step 1: Contact the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) donor center or recruitment facility in your area by using the locator map found on their website. If you have a recruitment facility in your area, you may be able to go there and get your information and have your test performed. If not, you will have to choose one which is closest and request a remote donor kit.

Step 2: After giving the NMDP your name and address, you will be sent (or given if local) a packet which includes these documents:

Step 3: Part of becoming a donor is meeting specific criteria. The questions below (Medical Evaluation document, page 6 of 6) are important preliminary factors in determining your legibility. After you answer the questions below and fill out the rest of your paperwork you will send (or give if local) the documents to the NMDP along with a check for $65.00 for the HLA typing fee.

National Marrow Donor Program Health Questionnaire (Medical Evaluation document, page 6 of 6)

Are you between the ages of 18 and 60?
Eighteen is the age of legal consent. You are eligible through your 60th year until your 61st birthday. The upper age limit was established to reduce the risk of donor complications. (For more information about the age guidelines, see the Donor FAQs.)
Are you in good general health?
This question allows you to make an overall summary of your general health. Certain diseases, such as Thalassemia/Sickle Cell diseases or autoimmune disease, can be transmitted from donors to transplant recipients. If you state that you are not in good health, the local NMDP representative must evaluate the reason to determine whether you can join the Registry.
Are you at risk for HIV (the AIDS virus) or hepatitis?
If you are at risk for HIV (the AIDS virus) or hepatitis, you cannot be a donor. NMDP guidelines regarding HIV and hepatitis are based on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for blood donors.
Have you ever been refused as a blood donor or had problems donating blood?
This question is asked to determine if you may have been refused for reasons of the potential for disease transmission. If the reason you were unable to donate blood was low blood count, low weight or low blood pressure, you may still be eligible to donate cells for transplantation.
Have you ever had a serious illness such as cancer, diabetes, heart or lung disease (including heart surgery and/or stroke), convulsions, chest pains, asthma or shortness of breath?
You are not eligible to be a donor if you have insulin-dependent diabetes. However, you are eligible to join if your diabetes is controlled by diet. You are also eligible to join if:
- You have had simple basal cell (skin cancer) cancer or cervical cancer in-situ
- You have mitral valve prolapse
- You have irregular heartbeat not requiring medication
- You have exercise-induced asthma
If you have not had an asthmatic episode in five years and are not on medication, you are eligible.
Have you ever had neck, back, hip or spine problems? If so, does your condition currently require treatment?
If you have had problems with your neck, you may be at increased risk of injury during surgery and may not be eligible to donate. Bone marrow harvest can aggravate existing back and/or hip problems. If you have a history of neck, back, hip or spine problems that have been resolved and are not under treatment, you may still be eligible to donate.
Have you ever had hepatitis, yellow jaundice, liver disease or a positive blood test for hepatitis?
You are eligible to donate if you have a history of Hepatitis A. Any positive blood test for Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C makes you ineligible. Hepatitis B vaccination is acceptable.
Have you ever tested positive for HIV antibodies (the AIDS virus)?
You are not eligible to be a donor if you are HIV positive because HIV can be transmitted from a donor to the transplant recipient.
Have you ever been treated for abnormal bleeding?
If you have a clinically significant bleeding disorder or history of bleeding after surgery or dental procedures, you are not eligible to donate. A clinically significant bleeding disorder is one that has required physician intervention in the past.
During the past 12 months, have you received any blood transfusions or tattoos or ear, skin or body piercings?
If you answer yes, you are still eligible to join the Registry. However, you will be temporarily deferred from donating for 12 months from the date of transfusion or tattoo.
In the past month, have you taken any drugs prescribed by a physician?
Any prescription drugs must be evaluated by the local NMDP representative when you join to find out why you are taking the medication. Acceptable medications include: birth control pills, thyroid medication (not for cancer), antihistamines, antibiotics, prescription eyedrops and topical medications. Anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications, such as diazepam and lithium, and hypertension medications, if there is no underlying cardiac disease, are acceptable if the condition is well controlled.
Have you ever taken human growth hormone or etretinate (Tegison^™), a drug taken for the treatment of psoriasis?
Human growth hormone is given to treat growth hormone deficiency. If you have taken human growth hormone, you are not eligible to be a donor due to the possible retransmission of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. If you have taken only recombinant DNA-derived growth hormone products, you are still eligible.
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.
Have you ever taken drugs by needle that were not prescribed by a physician?
The use of injectable drugs is an important consideration because of the high incidence of hepatitis among people who use injectable drugs and because needle-sharing drug users are at high risk for developing HIV infection.
Have you ever had problems with general or regional anesthesia?
Common side effects of anesthesia are nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, muscle pain, drowsiness and sore throat. It is safe to receive general or regional anesthesia if you have had these side effects. Any more severe side effects, such as numbness, tingling and muscle weakness could increase the risk of future complications. You may not be eligible to donate if you have had severe side effects from anesthesia.
Have you ever been HLA tissue typed before? If so, when and where?
A volunteer only needs to be tissue typed once. If you can get a copy of your tissue typing, the expense of being retested can be saved. Most often, to get a copy of your tissue typing, you need to send a written request for release to the institution that performed the typing.

Step 4: If you have a facility in your area, may be directed to the facility or a laboratory where your blood can be tested. However, if you are a remote donor without a local facility, after the NMDP receives your paperwork and check for the HLA typing fee they will send you a remote donor kit which will include:

Click Photo to right for a larger image

A. Collection tube for 10cc whole blood in yellow top ACD tube
B. Bubble wrap to protect sample tube
C. Adhesive seal to secure bubble wrap (black "C" on white strip)
D. Inner Bio-hazard bag
E. Outer Bio-hazard bag
F. Protective Cardboard Box (also contains lab & other paperwork)
G. Pre-paid Fed-ex Clear 'Clinical Pak' for shipping diagnostic specimens.
1. Absorbent pad (black "1" on white strip in bag E)

Step 5: You will make an appointment at either a testing laboratory, hospital, your general practitioner or other facility to get your blood drawn into the yellow sample tube as seen above. After your sample is drawn you can package up your blood and send it off via the pre-paid Fed-Ex envelope. Do NOT refrigerate the sample, and get it to ed-Ex as soon as possible. If you do not get the sample there within 30 days of the time your kit was sent out they will destroy your file.

You also receive your donor card which looks like this: (for privacy reasons I have fuzzed out my own personal medical information/ID number and signature.)

click for a larger image

Step 6: The NDMP will type your blood Preliminary HLA- A, B, C Typing (Class I Antigens) test. This info gets you in the system and if a match is found you will be contacted. it may be next week or it may be several years from now. All you can do is wait and HOPE...