The prognosis for several serious medical conditions can be greatly improved by a bone marrow infusion. Bone marrow is a soft tissue found in the core of many bones in the body. This tissue contains stem cells that are capable of differentiating into a variety of blood cells. By infusing patients with diseases such as leukemia, neuroblastoma, and myeloma with these stem cells, doctors can help treat their conditions.
Bone marrow is in high demand, especially from minority donors. If you are interested in donating bone marrow, there are a few steps to take. You may also want to learn about your options and what to expect when you are given bone marrow. By making the decision to administer bone marrow, you will make a difference in someone else's life; in fact, you can even save someone's life.
The stem cells in your bone marrow have a short lifespan. This means your marrow is only harvested when needed. If you want to administer bone marrow, start by registering with a donor registry. Many countries have national registries, and you can find yours by searching the Internet for "bone marrow registry" and your region, or by asking your doctor.
During the registration process, your name and contact information will be recorded and a blood sample will be taken. Your blood is typed so that when someone contacts the registry to request bone marrow, your type will show up if it matches. You will also be interviewed to make sure you are a good candidate for donation. You will be kept on the registry until you tell them you no longer want to administer bone marrow, or until you pass a certain age, usually 50, although this varies by registry.
If your marrow is needed, you will be contacted and evaluated to make sure you are a match. If so, you can begin the bone marrow donation process. There are two ways to administer bone marrow. The traditional way is to put you under anesthesia and insert hollow needles into your hips to remove the bone marrow, in a process called needle aspiration. This can cause pain in the hips for a while, but most people recover within a week.
A process called apherisis can also be used to remove bone marrow. Apheresis is less invasive and painful, and involves filtering your blood to remove helpful stem cells. If you choose apherisis as your donation method, you will be given medications to promote a profusion of stem cells in your blood. These medications can cause bone pain, fatigue, headaches, and muscle pain, but these symptoms will stop when you administer bone marrow and stop the medication regimen.
After the bone marrow is administered, the stem cells will be infused into a patient in need. You can choose to remain on the bone marrow registry, in which case you will not be asked to donate for a minimum of several months, or you can opt out after your one-time donation, if you wish. You should not sign up to administer bone marrow if you think you will not be able to donate when the time comes, or if you have a chronic illness.