• HOME
• ABOUT US
  • Mission and History
  • Staff
  • Board
  • Supporters
  • Contact Us
  • Directions to our Office
  • AADP and the News
• HELP
  • Join the Registry
  • Host a Registration Drive
  • Fund the Cause
  • Volunteer and Internship Opportunities
  • Engage Your Organization
  • Help Promote the Cause
  • Care Packages
• CALENDAR
  • Drives
  • Events
    • Laugh for Lives Comedy Show 2010
    • Light The Night 2010
    • Clubbing for a Cause
    • Hip Hop 4 Hope Dance Competition
    • Barry Foon Legacy Golf Tournament
    • FantASIA Fundraising Gala
• LEARN MORE
  • Newsletters
  • How to Register
  • Donation Process
  • FAQs
  • Registry Facts, Statistics and Figures
  • Who Needs Transplants?
• STORIES
  • In Loving Memory
  • Updates
  • Now Searching
  • Survivor Stories
  • Donor Heroes

6 Step Process to Actually Donating your Marrow/PBSC

These are the six steps to becoming a Marrow/Blood Stem Cell Donor.

 1. The first step is to join the NMDP Registry. NMDP representatives inform you about marrow and peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation processes. You complete a brief health questionnaire, sign a form consenting to have your tissue type listed on the Registry and provide a cheek swab sample to determine your tissue type. Once listed on the Registry, your tissue type will be compared to the tissue types of thousands of patients around the world who need transplants. You must be in between ages 18 - 60 to register and in good general health.
 2. If you are identified as a potential match for a patient, NMDP donor center representatives will ask for a fresh blood sample to see whether you match well enough to be an actual donor for the patient. If you are indeed a match, you will receive further education about marrow and PBSC donation processes and which is the preferred process for this patient. 
 3. To prepare for either donating procedure, you will attend an information session about the donating process and learn about the potential side effects of the procedure. You will have a physical exam to determine your health status and find if there are any special risks to you with either donation procedure. The health requirements are the same for marrow and PBSC donation. 

4. You decide whether to donate. After being fully informed about the donor experience, you make the decision -- with the support of your friends and loved ones -- about whether or not to become a donor. 

 You will be asked to donate either your Marrow or PBSC

 Marrow (happens 30% of the time) 

5. The marrow collection process is a minor surgical procedure that occurs in a hospital operating room while you receive regional or general anesthesia. Some of your liquid marrow is removed from the back of your pelvic bone using sterile needles and syringes. About 3% - 5% of your body's total marrow is removed-less for a smaller or younger patient and a little more for a bigger or adult patient.

6. You should recover quickly from the procedure. Most donors have some lower back soreness and stiffness for several days or a few weeks. Your marrow naturally replenishes itself within four to six weeks.

 PBSC (happens 70% of the time)   5. For a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation, you will receive 4 or 5 daily injections of Filgrastim, a stem cell growth factor medication that increases the number of stem cells released from your marrow into your blood stream so they can be collected through an apheresis procedure. 

 6. During apheresis, which is done at a blood center or 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 to you through a sterile needle in your other arm. 

7. Apheresis donors can experience muscle and/or bone pain prior to the donating procedure as a result of receiving Filgrastim. These effects diminish over one to two days after the last dose of Filgrastim is given, which is the day after your donation.