How is it performed? of Bone marrow donation

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If you are on the bone marrow register and you are identified as a potential donor, you may be asked to provide a blood sample. This is so that more checks on your tissue type can be made. If your tissue type matches the patient who needs bone marrow you may be selected to donate. You will have a full medical examination and some counselling about the procedure. It may be possible to have your costs or expenses reimbursed.

For 5-10 days before the bone marrow is taken you may have injections of growth factor (GCSF) to encourage the bone marrow to produce lots of stem cells. These are usually given by injection under the skin in the abdomen, arm or leg.

You will be admitted to hospital the day before the operation. You will be under general anaesthetic and the operation will last 1-2 hours. The bone marrow cells will be collected using a needle and syringe, with no cutting or stitching involved. You should be able to leave hospital 24 hours later.

The person receiving your bone marrow may have to have an intensive course of chemotherapy or radiation to kill their diseased bone marrow before they have the transplant. Then your healthy donor marrow will be passed into their blood, like a blood transfusion, through a thin plastic tube called a Hickman line, usually in the neck or groin.

The healthy bone marrow travels to the spaces inside the large bones and, if the operation is successful, they will soon begin to produce normal healthy red and white blood cells.

In some cases, the patientâ€™s body may not accept the new bone marrow, causing the immune system to attack it and threatening their life. This is why tissue type must be very carefully matched.