Donating Bone Marrow

Why Register to Donate Bone Marrow?
Every year, thousands of adults and children need bone marrow transplants -- a procedure which may be their only chance for survival. Although some patients with aplastic anemia, leukemia or other cancers have a genetically matched family member who can donate, about 70 percent do not. These patients' lives depend on finding an unrelated individual with a compatible tissue type -- often within their own ethnic group -- who is willing to donate marrow.

Since 1987, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has facilitated more than 4,000 unrelated marrow transplants.

There is a critical need for more volunteer donors. Many patients, especially minority ethnic groups, cannot find a compatible donor among those on the registry. Patients and donors must have matching tissue types, and these matches are found most often between people of the same ethnic group. A large, ethnically diverse group of prospective donors will give more patients a chance for survival.

What is Bone Marrow?
Marrow is the tissue found inside bones that produces red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. These vital blood cells fight infection, carry oxygen and help control bleeding. Any disease that attacks the bone marrow can eliminate the body's ability to protect itself.

Who Can Donate Marrow?
If you are in good health and between the ages of 18 and 60, you may be eligible to join the NMDP's registry, where patients seeking a compatible donor begin their search.

Steps to Joining the Registry

• The Bone Marrow Donor Program registers volunteers who wish to join the registry. After you complete your registration form and meet the required health guidelines, a kit will be used to collect four swabs of cheek cells for tissue typing.
• The laboratory results are entered into the NMDP's registry, a computerized database of potential donors.

• If you match the tissue type of a patient seeking a donor, additional testing will confirm the results. Marrow donor counselors will discuss the procedure with you and help you make an informed decision about donating marrow.
• The marrow collection process is performed in Seattle, Washington and may require an overnight stay in the hospital. The procedure itself is painless, because it is performed under anesthesia. But, for an average of two weeks following the procedure, most donors experience sore hips and some must restrict their activities. Most donors also report that donating marrow is a very positive experience. Many marrow donors are willing to donate again in the future.
• The donated marrow is transfused to the patient, whose diseased cells have been destroyed by intensive chemotherapy. In time, the donated marrow engrafts and begins producing healthy blood cells.

Why are more ethnically diverse donors needed?
Because patients are most likely to find a compatible donor within their own ethnic group, a diverse group of potential donors is needed. Over 3.5 million volunteers have joined the national registry, but only small percentage are not Caucasian.

Percentage of ethnic groups on the national registry:

• African American - 8.0%
• Asian/Pacific Islander - 5.9%
• Hispanic - 8.0%
• Native American - 1.3%
• Caucasian - 75.1%
• Multi-Race - 1.7%

Funding
When someone volunteers to join the national registry of potential donors, a kit will be used to collect four swabs of cheek cells for tissue typing. This test costs $52. Because funding is limited and the need to diversify the registry is so critical, the U.S. government pays the fee for people of ethnic minorities. For Caucasian donors, we count on volunteer funding and local charity groups.

Once a donor is found to match a patient, the donation is paid for by the NMDP and billed to the patient and transplant center.

How Can I Join the Registry?
If you live in Alaska and would like to join the registry, you can visit any five Blood Bank of Alaska centers or you may visit www.marrow.org to register online.

If you are interested in hosting a Bone Marrow and Blood Drive at your location, please contact Jessica Golden, Public Relations Manager at the Blood Bank of Alaska, Anchorage center at (907) 222-5656 for more information.