WHY BE A STEM CELL DONOR?

The National Donor Program has arranged more than 13,300 transplants since 1987, but many patients, especially people of color, have not found marrow donors. Because marrow typing is inherited, a patient might only match with a donor of the same ethnic background. Only 791 Latino patients have received transplants, along with 405 Asian/Pacific Islander patients, 608 African-Americans, and 55 American Indian/Alaska Natives. Many more donors of diverse backgrounds are needed to provide transplants for all patients.

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

Potential donors should be at least 18 and not yet 60 years of age, in good health with no history of heart disease, most types of cancer, diabetes, exposure to the AIDS virus, or other chronic illness. They must not be more than 20% over ideal weight. These restrictions are designed to protect donors who might be at high risk for anesthesia problems and to protect recipients from avoidable complications.

WHAT HAPPENS?

The first step to joining the marrow donor program is a DNA sample. This will be the first drive which will not use blood samples, drawn through needles from a vein in the arm, but rather my new technology which will use a cotton swab of the mouth. The marrow type is derived from the swabbed specimen and entered into the National Marrow Donor Program computer. When a potential match is found, the donor is called in for additional blood testing to determine if the match is close enough for transplant to take place. For Northern California, the collection would be done in the University of California hospital in San Francisco or Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley.

DONATING STEM CELLS

There are two types of stem cell collections. In a marrow donation, cells are removed from the back of the pelvis bones using special needles. The donor is either asleep under general anesthesia, or awake but numb from the waist down. Either way, the marrow collection involves no pain, although donors feel some stiffness and soreness for a few days after the procedure. From 2% to 5% of the donors marrow is removed, and it regenerates within two weeks, much like a blood donation. The new procedure involves the donor receiving injections of stem cell growth factor for 4 to 5 days, followed by a collection of stem cells from the blood stream using a procedure called apheresis. Blood is removed through a sterile needle in the vein of one arm, passed thorough an apheresis machine that separates out the stem cells, and the remaining blood is returned via a sterile needle in the other arm. Donors may experience some bone pain as a result of the injections, but it goes away after the donation.

THE LIVING GIFT OF LIFE

The transplant is taken by courier to the patient who receives it intravenously. It grows in the patients’ bones and begins producing healthy new cells. The period after the transplant is difficult for the patient, but the long-term outlook is very optimistic.