Bone Marrow Drive????

Question

There is a bone marrow drive this weekend. I am a blood donor so I'd like to donate bone marrow as well. However, I can't really find a lot of info about it online - the info seemed to be geared toward patient-specific donating and not a "drive."

Anyone done this before? Tips, advice?

Answer 1

i have not heard of a bone marrow drive. sounds sketchy. well the bone marrow has to match the person its not that easy to get i dont think my cousin had a bone marrow transplant but he had to get the marrow from his twin. i would pass  

Answer 2

I doubt they'll actually be taking the bone marrow from you at the drive.. most likely they're looking for people to add to their database whom they can match up with possible recipients...

they'll need to take a small sample of your blood, and some personal info... that's about it

Answer 3

Theres nothing to it.  They will take your name, you will sign some papers, and they take a cheek swab or draw a lil bit of blood.

http://www.marrow.org is the National Marrow Donors Program website, but it doesnt say a whole lot about what happens at a drive.

Your info will go into their database and when a patient needing a transplant matches you, you will be contacted.  You will go through some screening tests to make sure you really are a match, healthy enough to donate, and still want to donate.  

Then, if you do donate, you will most likely donate peripheral blood stem cells.  They are a type of white blood cell in your circulating blood.  They are harvested by aphersis, the same process as at the plasma center and some Red Cross donations.

Sometimes actual marrow is still used, but you would be under general anesthesia for that proceedure

Answer 4

Giving bone marrow is an incredibly painful procedure, and I have never heard of people doing a drive, like you would a blood drive. The marrow has to be patient specific otherwise, the body might reject it.