| As you know, my father has a bone marrow failure disease. Most people aren't familiar with bone marrow failures. But you must have heard of leukemia? Leukemia is a type of bone marrow failure. To sum it up, what my dad has is very serious. The only potential cure out there is to get a bone marrow transplant. But unfortunately for my father, he will never be eligible for a bone marrow transplant because of his age. They usually only perform the procedure on patients 60 or less. Anyhow, Marrow.org (NMDP) is giving away free kits right now in hopes of saving lives. I just signed up and if you would like, you can also sign up right now too. Even though I know my dad will never be able to get one, or be cured of his disease.... it comforts me to know that I may be able to save someone a person like my dad. My friend who just went through a bone marrow transplant writes this to help understand the BMT procedure: "Marrow.org (NMDP), registers your HLA typing in their database. The test they do identifies only 6 of the 10 major antigens in your DNA that affects graft immune response, ie: the success or failure of a transplant. People with a handful of diseases, including Leukemia, MyeloDysplastic Syndrome, Lymphoma, Aplastic Anemia, etc... have a doctor do a search of the marrow.org database. The search usually turns up a few to a few dozen donors with the 6/10 matching. Some donors have had the more extensive HLA typing so their complete antigen profile is registered in the NMDP database. It is recognized that there must be at least a 8/10 match to proceed with a stem cell transplant, 10/10 is the best. If a 8/10+ donor is not present in the search results, the 6/10 donors are called in 3 or 4 at a time to get the full HLA typing test. This is done with a very small blood draw at your local hospital. The stem cell recipient's insurance pays for this $500-$700 test, not the donor. If your HLA typing is found to be an appropriate match and the recipient wants to proceed, this is how they get your unneeded stem cells. The doctors will schedule with the NMDP. You will be schedule immediately for a physical where they will get a blood draw to look for additional things that may complicate a stem cell transplant and to make sure you are still in good health. If you pass the health screening all is a 'go'. Approximately 6 days before the recipient is to get your stem cell donation the recipient will start to undergo 'conditioning'. This means they will get total body radiation and/or chemotherapy to knock out their own stem cells. On the same day, you will start going into your doctors office every day for a short visit where the doctor will inject a synthetic human hormone that will cause your bone marrow to start creating lots of stem cells. Normally your bone marrow stem cells get a communication to create 1 of 4 types of cell, based upon current needs; 1. stem cell, 2. Red Blood Cell, 3. White Blood Cell, or 4. Platelet cell. The synthetic hormone that is injected tells your stem cells to divide and create lots of other stem cells. Your bone marrow creates more stem cells than can occupy the bone marrow. The extra stem cells are evicted into the blood stream. After 4 or 5 quick shots over 5 days, your blood is teeming with stem cells! You dont feel any different! On day minus 1 for the recipient, you will visit your hospital and sit in a comfortable recliner. The nurses place an IV in your wrist or arm. They draw blood out of your arm for 3-4 hours while you read a book,magazine or watch TV. There is no pain. The blood is routed through a machine that filters out the stem cells and is returned back into your donors body. There are no side effects, you only lose extra, unneeded stem cells. Some of you may remember the hearing about the old days of 'bone marrow' transplants. Those procedures were much more invasive and entailed the use of big needles on sedated donors. Stem cell transplants today are as described and only slightly more invasive than just giving blood. All costs are borne by the recipients insurance. Your harvested stem cells are transported overnight to the hospital where your stem-cell-free recipient is now feeling like a sack of moldy tomatoes. The next day as the nurses transfuse your cells into the recipient he/she and his/her family cry with joy and relief. This is called Day Zero for the recipient.
Can donors register for the NMDP database and change their mind if selected? Yes. They prefer you don't back out, but there is no contract to prevent you from doing so.
The decision to register as a NMDP stem cell donor is very personal. Please compare the amount of discomfort you may experience (based upon my hopefully accurate description), with the comfort and joy you may experience in saving a life. Please consider becoming a donor. And please communicate to everyone you know about this unique opportunity to register with the NMDP at no cost. Feel free to send them a link to this post to explain the process."
Link: http://interanimate.blogspot.com/2008/05/day-123-last-word-on-donating.html
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