How is the bone marrow removed from the donor?
Due to the amount of marrow required, the donor is given a general anaesthetic. Under operating theatre conditions, marrow is withdrawn from the hipbones by syringe. This is easily done without causing any damage but the donor may feel some discomfort for a day or two. Who can help? You can, if you are aged between 18 and 50, and in good health with no history of cancer. How are donors and patients matched? Just as there are many red cell groups, known as blood groups, there are a variety of white cell groups known as tissue types. In the same way as a blood transfusion needs to be matched for a particular blood group, bone marrow transplants need to be matched for their tissue types. The best match is usually found from a family member (brothers and sisters). Unfortunately only one in four patients have such a suitable donor. Because there are a great number of tissue types, it takes an extremely large register of donors (many thousands) to find an unrelated matched donor for patients
