Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I get paid to be a donor?
A: No. The only “payment” received is the feeling of offering another person a second chance at life.

Q: How much does it cost to register? Who pays for the donation procedure?
A: Officers Give Hope covers the costs associated with sampling and testing a recruited donor’s bucall swab. Once a match is made, all medical costs for the donation procedure are covered by the patient or the patient’s medical insurance, as are travel expenses and other non-medical costs. The only “costs” to the donor might be time taken off from work.

Q: Who can donate?
A: Anyone between the ages of 18 – 60 and in general good health. The following is a concise guideline:

Asthma: Serious asthma (poorly controlled, requiring hospitalization, etc) is not acceptable.
Back problems: Sprains, strains, and aches are common and may not interfere with a marrow donation. Serious back problems, particularly those requiring surgery, may be a cause for deferral.
Blood pressure: Elevated blood pressure (hypertension) is acceptable if controlled by medication.
Cancer: Cured local skin cancer (only simple basal cell or squamous cell) is acceptable. Cervical cancer in situ is acceptable. All other forms of cancer are unacceptable.
Diabetes: Medication-dependent diabetes is not acceptable. Diabetes controlled by diet is acceptable.
Epilepsy: More than one seizure in the past year or multiple seizures are not acceptable. Epilepsy controlled with medication, when there has been no more than one seizure in the past year, is acceptable.
Heart disease: Prior heart attack, bypass surgery or other heart disease is not acceptable. Mitral valve prolapse that does not require medication or restrictions is acceptable. Irregular heartbeat not requiring medication is acceptable.
Hepatitis: Hepatitis B surface antigen is not acceptable. Hepatitis C antibody is not acceptable. Any other hepatitis history must be evaluated early in the actual search process. Hepatitis vaccine is acceptable.
Obesity: Body Mass Index is used to evaluate weight. Donors may be deferred if obesity presents donation risk.
Tuberculosis: Active pulmonary tuberculosis within the last two years is not acceptable.

Q: How are patients matched with donors?
A: Proteins called antigens are found on the surface of the white blood cells and other body tissue. Particular antigens, named HLA-A, B, and C are essential to the success of stem cell transplants. These antigens are used to “match” a patient with a donor. When looking for a match, it’s important to remember that people of the same race and ethnic groups are more likely to match each other.

The first place physicians look for a match is within the patient’s immediate family. Regardless of race or ethnicity, each person has a unique tissue type inherited from his or her parents, which is why the chances of finding a match are best among family members. The chances of two siblings matching each other are one in four.

If no related donor can be found, the search for an unrelated donor begins. To help match patients and unrelated donors, the NMDP maintains a computerized Registry that records the tissue type of individuals who have agreed to donate stem cells. The computer crosschecks its records to see if there is a match for the patient. The Registry currently contains more than five million potential donors.

Q. Describe the stem cell donation process.
A. When you donate marrow, it is removed with a surgical needle from the back of your pelvic bone. All marrow donors are given either general or regional anesthesia. The procedure lasts between 45 and 90 minutes. Marrow is constantly regenerating itself and is replaced within several weeks.

For a donation of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), the donor receives injections of drugs each day for four to five days. The drugs increase the number of stem cells released from the bone marrow into the blood stream. The stem cells are collected from the blood stream through a process called apheresis. During apheresis, which is done at a blood center or hospital, your blood is removed through a sterile needle placed in a vein in one arm and returned through a sterile needle placed in a vein in the other arm.

Q. What are the risks for the donor?
A. Bone marrow donation is a surgical procedure. There is minimal risk involved. Serious complications are rare but could include anesthesia reactions, infection, transfusion reactions, or injury at the needle insertion sites. With a marrow donation, donors can expect to feel some soreness in the lower back for several days or longer following the donation.

Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donors may experience bone pain, muscle pain, nausea, insomnia and fatigue while receiving the injections of medication. Bone pain and headaches have been the two most frequently reported symptoms. These effects disappear promptly when the collection is complete. During the apheresis procedure some donors experience a tingling feeling from the anticoagulant used to keep the cells from clotting. Others experience chills. These effects are relieved after the donation is complete.

Q. How many transplants have been done and how well do they work?
A. The NMDP has helped more than 25,000 patients receive transplants using unrelated donors since 1987. The NMDP works only with unrelated donor transplants. Many thousands of related donor transplants and transplants using the patient’s own stem cells (autologous transplants) have also been done. The chances the transplant will work are different for each patient. How well the transplant works depends on many things, such as:

The disease being treated
The stage of the disease
The patient’s age and general health
How well the donor’s tissue type matches the patient

Q. Does donation hurt?
A. Marrow – following the procedure, donors can expect to feel some soreness in the lower back for a few days or longer depending on an individual’s tolerance. Some donors have also reported feeling fatigued.

PBSC – you may experience muscle pain, nausea, insomnia and fatigue while receiving the injections of medication. Muscle pain and headaches have been the most frequently reported symptoms. These symptoms disappear promptly after the collection is completed. During the apheresis procedure, some donors experience a tingling feeling from the anticoagulant used to keep the cells from clotting.

Q. What happens after one donates?
A. The patient and donor remain anonymous to each other. After one year, depending on the transplant center and if both parties agree, they may choose to meet. Most donors return to work the next day and return to their full routines in a few weeks.

Q. Where is the donation done?
A. The NMDP works with more than 100 medical centers nationwide. Usually, a donor doesn’t have to go far from home for the procedure. The donated cells are then delivered to the patient in need.