Bone Marrow Transplant 4 Lisa

Be a Bone Marrow Donor

Without the chance of a life saving bone marrow transplant, the future for patients like Lisa is a bleak one.

Sadly, for 3 out of 4 people, the search for a suitably matched unrelated donor will end in failure.

That is why more bone marrow donors are required.

The steps involved in becoming a bone marrow donor are few and simple. If you are aged between 18 and 44 years old and in good general health, this is how you can do it (in the UK):

• Attend a blood donor session and inform the staff that you wish to join the British Bone Marrow Registry (BBMR)*
• An extra sample of blood will be taken to enable your tissue type to be identified
• A letter will be sent to you to confirm that your details and tissue type have been added to the register

* An alternative bone marrow donor register is maintained by The Anthony Nolan Trust.

Once you have joined the register you could be identified as a potential donor for a patient at any time. This is what happens next:

• A further blood sample is taken to enable specific tissue typing
• If you are found to be the best match for a patient you will be given a thorough explanation of the donation process
• You will undergo a medical examination to check that you are fit enough to donate, including further blood tests

The commonest method of donation actually involves the removal of stem cells from your prehipheral blood stream, rather than the bone marrow itself. This is what happens:

• For the 4 days preceeding the donation, you will be given a growth factor injection to stimulate the production of stem cells in your body
• On the 5th day and assuming that you have enough circulating stem cells, you will be connected to an Apheresis machine at hospital
• Blood will be collected from a vein in one arm, stem cells will be 'filtered out' by the apheresis machine, and the blood will be returned to your other arm

Platelet donors will be very familiar with the above process which lasts around 4 hours. No in-patient stays are required and neither is there any general or spinal anaesthetic.

You may experience some flu like symptoms for a short time afterwards but these quickly disperse and normal activities can be resumed in 24 hours.

This page is only intended as a brief summary of the bone marrow donor process. To access more detail, please visit the links page.

Compared to the fight against cancer, being a bone marrow donor is a straightforward process.

If you do decide to become a donor, either because you knew Lisa personally or you have visited this site please "let Simon Wilson know "<simail at f2s dot com>.

By offering to be a donor, you are giving people like Lisa the ultimate gift
- the chance of life.