Living Donors Online!
| LDO Home | General | Kidney | Liver | Marrow | Other | Message Board |
Bone Marrow Donation: 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Links | FAQs | Experiences
Considering Donation
Bone marrow donation to a relative often is less vexing for a potential donor because the risks are relatively few. In the case of unrelated donation, it is most frequently nondirected. That is, the donor volunteers and doesn't know who the potential recipient may be. As such, the practical barriers are not as significant for bone marrow donation as for whole organ donation. Even so, the issues to be addressed by a potential donor are the same:
-
How do I feel about bone marrow donation in general?
-
Does my religion have a position on donation?
-
What impact (if any) will donation likely have on my relationship with the recipient? My family members? Friends?
-
For related donation, who else might be considered as a donor? How might we mutually agree on who should be considered first?
-
Do I have the financial resources available to cover time off from work for testing, surgery (or apheresis), and recovery?
-
Am I prepared to deal with the possible outcomes of the donation such as rejection of the marrow, pain, and even death?
-
Am I comfortable with my motives for donation? Do I expect some sort of compensation or pay back for donating?
-
Do I feel sufficiently informed to make an educated decision?
-
Am I up to it physically? Are there current aspects of my health that I know should keep me from donating?
-
Do I have a "support network"—family and friends—to help me through this process, or am I going it alone?
-
How will I feel if I am rejected as a consequence of the screening process?
In the case of related donation, you need to be prepared for the possibility that you will not qualify as a donor, which can be emotionally taxing. The American Red Cross reports 70% of family members are not a match. That's why volunteers for unrelated nondirected donation are so important.
The decision whether or not to donate ultimately rests with you alone. However, there are resources available to you to help you through the decision-making process. Donor and collection centers routinely include educational sessions for potential donors. You might also consider reaching out to family members, close friends, a religious or spiritual guide, or someone who has gone through this process. The LDO! Community Message Forum is another source for support and information.
Volunteering Means Registering
Bone marrow or peripheral stem cell donation is a great form of unrelated nondirected donation. For those of you moved by a desire to help others through organ donation, this form of donation deserves special consideration because of the need, the less intrusive form of donation, the speedier recovery, the low risk to the donor, and the ability to donate more than once.
The process of volunteering to donate bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells begins with registering. Note that the registration process includes the taking of a blood sample for blood and tissue typing. (See the next section for details on the donor evaluation process.) You pay for the cost of the blood testing.
If you would like to volunteer, here are application forms for two registries:
And here's a link to an extensive list of global bone marrow registries, which will allow you to choose the registry that makes the most sense for your circumstances and location:
Bone Marrow Donation: 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Links | FAQs | Experiences