Table of Contents
Do bone marrow donors have to be the same race?
Compared to organ transplants, bone marrow donations need to be even more genetically similar to their recipients. Though there are exceptions, the vast majority of successful matches take place between donors and patients of the same ethnic background. To find a marrow match for anyone is hard.
What disqualifies you from being a stem cell donor?
If you have serious kidney problems such as polycystic kidney disease and are over 40 years old, or chronic glomerulonephritis (any age), you will not be able to donate. If you have had a kidney removed due to disease, you may not be able to donate.
What makes someone a bone marrow match?
How is a bone marrow match determined? Doctors look for a donor who matches their patient’s tissue type, specifically their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue type. The closer the match between the patient’s HLA markers and yours, the better for the patient.
How likely am I to be a stem cell match?
We urgently need more people from minority ethnic backgrounds to sign up as stem cell donors. Patients who are White Caucasian have a 71\% chance of finding the best match from an unrelated donor. This drops to a 37\% chance for patients from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Can a Caucasian be a bone marrow match for African American?
Blacks Face Bone Marrow Donor Shortage African-Americans are less likely to receive life-saving treatments using bone marrow than whites. Low numbers of donors and rare genes make finding a bone marrow match less likely for black people than for white people.
Can a parent donate stem cells to a child?
Other times, someone else donates the stem cells. When stem cells come from another person, the stem cells must have similar genetic makeup. Usually, a child’s brother or sister is a good match. A parent or even an unrelated person sometimes can be a match.
What are the odds of being a stem cell match?
A patient’s likelihood of finding a matching bone marrow donor or cord blood unit on the Be The Match Registry® ranges from 29\% to 79\% depending on ethnic background.
Can I Donate my bone marrow or stem cells to cancer patients?
Here we address several myths about donating your bone marrow or stem cells to cancer patients in need. The majority of stem cell donations are taken from the blood, not the bone marrow. Donors and recipients are matched with a process called HLA typing. Three-quarters of people who need transplants do not have a matched sibling.
What are the different types of stem cells for donations?
If you are planning to donate stem cells, you have agreed to allow doctors to draw bone marrow stem cells from either your blood or bone marrow for transplantation. There are two broad types of stem cells: embryonic and bone marrow stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are studied in therapeutic cloning and other types of research.
Why are people reluctant to join the bone marrow donor registry?
Many people are reluctant to join the bone marrow donor registry because they fear being called upon to donate. Here we address several myths about donating your bone marrow or stem cells to cancer patients in need.
What is the difference between bone marrow donation and platelet donation?
It is very similar to donating blood platelets. The main difference is that for a few days before the donation, donors need to take an injection called filgrastim (Neupogen ® ), which stimulates the bone marrow to produce extra blood-forming stem cells.