Gift of Life Website

To look for Frequently Asked Questions and for PDF files containing some of the information below,
please click here.

THE NEED

Each year, thousands of children and adults are stricken with blood disease. Marrow transplantation has become the only real "cure" for many of these diseases.

Approximately 30 percent of patients have a family member, generally a sibling, who is able to donate marrow. However, most patients must turn to help from an unrelated donor. The characteristics used to match marrow are inherited much like eye, skin and hair color. A patient will most likely find a matching donor within his/her own ethnic groups.

More than sixty blood-related diseases can be treated with healthy marrow from a living donor. These diseases include:

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
Aplastic Anemia
Neuroblastoma
Hodgkin's Disease
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

BECOMING A MARROW DONOR:

The 6 Steps To Save A Life

1		Join the NMDP Registry: Complete a brief health questionnaire, sign a health consent form, and provide a small sample of blood for tissue typing. The registry is searched by patients worldwide.
2		A representative will contact you if you are a potential match for a patient. Blood samples will be needed to see if you are an exact match.
3		If you are an exact match, you will attend an information session and receive a physical exam. Then you make the decision whether or not to become a donor.
4	The collection method-Marrow Donation or PBSC Donation (Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Donation) is based upon the patient's need. Health requirements are the same for both types of donation.

	MARROW DONATION	PBSC
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	A small amount of marrow is collected from the back of your pelvic bone using a special needle and syringe. Anesthesia is used during this simple hospital procedure.	You receive injections of Filgrastim for 4-5 consecutive days to increase the number of stem cells released from your marrow to the blood stream. The medication may cause "flu-like symptoms, such as aching bones. These symptoms diminish about 1-2 days after last dose is given.
6
	After the donation, normal activity may be resumed. Donors may feel soreness for a few days to a few weeks. Your marrow replenishes itself within a few weeks.	Your blood is passed from your vein through a sterile needle in a closed system machine that separates out the stem cells. The remaining blood, minus the stem cells is returned to you through a needle in your other arm.

T0P 10 MYTHS OF DONATING MARROW

1. Donating marrow is very painful!

Anesthesia will be used, so there is no pain when the marrow is collected. 
There will be some tenderness in the lower back area afterwards which lasts
for a few days to a few weeks.

2. Donating marrow is hazardous to one’s health.

Only 3% to 5% of one’s marrow will be collected.  This will also regenerate
within a few weeks.  So you’re not losing anything in the long run, but
gaining the satisfaction of saving someone’s life!

3. Bone marrow is taken from the spine.

Bone marrow is a fluid within the bones and is the source of all your blood
cells.  It is collected from the rear of the pelvic bone which is one of the
bigger bones in your body and a good source of marrow.  

4. I can’t donate marrow because I’m underweight.

There is a weight requirement, but it is a MAXIMUM weight requirement!  For
example, if you are 5’3, the maximum weight is 225 pounds.  There is NO
minimum weight to register as a donor.

5. A bone marrow transplant is a 100% cure.

Patients receiving a bone marrow transplant have a survival rate that
depends on the type of illness they have and at what stage they are in their
illness.

6. There is a cost for donating marrow.

Donors will not be expected to pay for any part of the donation process,
including registration, blood tests, and subsequent hospital stays.  They
will also not be reimbursed for their time.

7. Donating marrow takes up a lot of time.

Most donors stay in the hospital for half a day.  Some may stay overnight.

8. Donating marrow will produce ugly scars.

Marrow is extracted with a needle, so no incisions are necessary.

9. A donor and recipient will never meet.

After a minimum one-year period, some donors have been able to meet the
person whose life they saved.

10. The National Marrow Donor Program is a conspiracy 
to get blood samples from all U.S. Citizens!

Um.....okay.