Donating Bone Marrow - Are You On The List?

I read an article on CNN entitled "Donating bone marrow, saving lives" and it has inspired me to look into signing up as a bone marrow donor because I can potentially save someone's life for the bargain price of $52.

I know what you're thinking. You think that bone marrow donation is painful, don't you? Because that's what I thought too. But, it turns out that the myths (like that one) surrounding bone marrow donation are one of the reasons most people decide against registering as a donor. This is why it's so important in all walks of life to NOT rely on what "so-and-so" said they heard from their grandmother. There is a reason that hearsay is inadmissible in court people. With the amount of information available today, literally at your fingertips via the Internet, it STILL amazes me the amount of misinformation that takes place on a daily basis.

But, I digress. Do you want to know more about bone marrow donation? Or, are you interested in umbilical cord blood donation?


Just in case you have no clue as to what bone marrow is or why it's important, let's talk about that first!! Bone Marrow is the flexible tissue found in the hollow interior of bones. In adults, marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. It constitutes 4% of total body weight, i.e. approximately 2.6 kg (5.7 lbs.) in adults.

The bone marrow stroma contain mesenchymal stem cells (also called marrow stromal cells). These cells are multipotent stem cells (MSC's) that can differentiate into a variety of cell types. Cell types that MSC's have been shown to differentiate into in vitro or in vivo include osteoblasts, chondrocytes, myocytes, adipocytes, and, as described lately, beta-pancreatic islets cells. They can also transdifferentiate (when a non-stem cell transforms into a different type of cell, or when an already differentiated stem cell creates cells outside its already established differentiation) into neuronal (nerve) cells.

Bone Marrow Illustration


Picture of Human Bone Marrow

There is an organization out there called the National Marrow Donor Program. Their website is where you should start if you are thinking about donating bone marrow, or even umbilical cord blood.

You might be wondering, why do we need bone marrow? That's a great question! On any given day, more than 6,000 men, women and children are searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a life-saving donor. These patients have leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. For many of these patients, a transplant may be the best and only hope of a cure.

Now that we know what bone marrow is, let's talk about a few specifics. There are two ways that bone marrow is extracted for donation:

1. Your run-of-the-mill bone marrow donation. Donating bone marrow is a surgical procedure done under general or regional anesthesia in a hospital. While a donor receives anesthesia, doctors use needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone.


2. Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation. PBSC donation is a non-surgical procedure done in an outpatient clinic. PBSC donors receive daily injections of a drug called filgrastim for five days, to increase the number of blood-forming cells in the bloodstream. Then, through a process called apheresis, a donor's blood is removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to the donor through the other arm.

The big question most people have is whether or not donating bone marrow hurts and what the side effects are. According to the NMDP, marrow donation is done under general or regional anesthesia so the donor experiences no pain during the collection procedure.

Discomfort and side effects vary from person to person. Most marrow donors experience some side effects. Common side effects of marrow donation (not PBSC) include:

• Lower back pain


• Fatigue


• Stiffness when walking


• Bleeding at the collection site

Some donors said the experience was more painful than they expected; others said it was less painful. Some donors describe the pain as similar to achy hip bones or falling on their buttocks. Others say it feels more like a strained muscle in the back. The ache may last a few days to several weeks.

For PBSC, donors may experience headache or bone pain and muscle aches, similar to a cold or the flu, for several days before collection. These are side effects of the filgrastim injections that disappear shortly after donation. Other common side effects are nausea, trouble sleeping and tiredness. Less than one percent of donors have an allergic reaction to filgrastim, which may include skin rashes or shortness of breath.

The PBSC donation procedure can also have side effects. Some donors experience tingling around the mouth, fingers and toes and mild muscle cramps. This is caused by the anti-coagulant (blood thinner) used in the apheresis procedure. These symptoms are easily treated by slowing down the procedure or giving the donor calcium. Less common side effects of the donation procedure are a decrease in the blood platelet count, lightheadedness and nausea.

I could go on and on, but I wanted to just do a quick overview about bone marrow donation. Now you know what bone marrow is, why it's important, and have a couple answers about donation. If you feel like you want to join the list of people who have elected to become donors, please visit the NMDP website.