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The bone marrow donor can be a he althy person, between 18 and 55 years old. What conditions must be met in order to be a bone marrow donor entered in the register?
What to do tobecome a bone marrow donor ? You must come for a blood test for typing HLA antigens, undergo a medical examination and fill out a record sheet. Qualification toto be a bone marrow donortakes place during one visit to a center authorized to perform this type of research. In order to perform tests and enterof bone marrow donorsinto the register, you should go to the medical center closest to your place of residence. A list of such facilities can be found at www.szpik.info.
What you need to know to become a bone marrow donor
The bone marrow donor can be a he althy person, aged 18 - 55. When deciding to enter the bone marrow donor register, we must know if we do not suffer from diseases that make it impossible to be a donor. The doctor who will do the interview before entering them into the register will ask about them. The bone marrow donor cannot be a person who suffered or suffers from:
- neoplastic diseases,
- viral hepatitis,
- tuberculosis,
- proliferative diseases (e.g. leukemia or lymphomas),
- hematological diseases,
- endocrine diseases,
- is a carrier of the viruses: HIV, HBS (hepatitis B) and CMV (cytomegalovirus).
How to become a bone marrow donor - what is typing of histocompatibility antigens
Typing histocompatibility antigens is the basic test that should be performed before entering the bone marrow donor registry. Antigens are found on the surface of the cells of all tissues (except the nervous system and red blood cells) and are encoded by numerous genes. Each organism has different antigens. The most potent set of histocompatibility antigens is called HLA, and this is what is tested before being entered on the bone marrow donor registry. Specific antigens on the surface of cells determine whether the recipient's organism accepts or rejects the transplant - organs, bone marrow, etc. Despite the enormous diversity of the antigen system in humans, with a large number of potential donors registered, there is a good chance of finding a bone marrow donor with tissue compatibilityfor the success of the transplant. It is estimated that only 20 percent of patients waiting for a bone marrow transplant cannot find a donor due to tissue incompatibility.
Does being on the bone marrow donor register mean that we automatically become a donor?
No. When there is a recipient who is confirmed to be tissue compatible with ours, a very detailed examination of the donor's he alth should be carried out to exclude any contraindications to donating bone marrow. Only the positive result of these studies finally qualifies us as donors for a specific person.
How is the bone marrow donated
The marrow is harvested in hospital, under general or local anesthesia. It consists in inserting a needle into the pelvic bone and aspirating the marrow. Before the procedure, about 400 ml of blood are collected from the donor for autotransfusion after the bone marrow is collected. It is made to speed up the return of the hematopoietic system to normal. After donating the bone marrow, the donor returns home the next day, and his hematopoietic system normalizes his work after about 3 weeks.