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FAQ


Q.What is bone marrow and who needs it?
Bone marrow is a spongy tissue found inside bones. The bone marrow in the breast bone, skull, hips, ribs, and spine contain stem cells which produce the body's blood cells. These blood cells include:
  • White blood cells which fight disease and infection
  • Red blood cells which carry oxygen
  • Platelets which enable the blood to clot

Bone marrow/ blood stem cell transplants are accepted treatment for the following conditions/diseases:

  • Chronic myeloid leukaemia
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
  • Acute leukaemia
  • Myelodysplasia
  • Myeloproliferative disease
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Hodgkin lymphoma (disease)
  • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
  • Severe aplastic anaemia
  • Renal cell carcinoma
  • Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria
  • Immunodeficiency diseases
  • Fanconi’s anaemia
  • Inherited metabolic disorders
  • Marrow Failure syndromes of restricted lineage
    • Pure red cell aplasia (Blackfan Diamond Syndrome)
    • Congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia
    • Sever inherited platelet function disorder
  • Thalassaemia major
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Osteopetrosis

Q.Can anything go wrong?

The risks for donating bone marrow are the same as those involved in any general anaesthetic. More than 3000 bone marrow transplants are performed throughout the world each year. The chance of a serious complication is very low but some people may experience nausea and/or local pain and discomfort for several days.

G-CSF is usually well tolerated, although the donor may experience bone pain and some flu-like symptoms during the course of the injections, which usually respond to paracetamol. As yet no significant long term side effects have been observed with prolonged administration of G-CSF to patients but the long term effects of short treatments in normal donors is unknown.

If you are chosen to donate stem cells for a patient you will be asked to visit a medical specialist who will check your fitness to donate in detail. The specialist will be a physician with a detailed knowledge of stem cells donation. In Australia, donation occurs in one of the major hospitals in the capital cities. You would not be required to travel interstate or overseas.


Q.Can I donate bone marrow more than once?

It is possible that you would match more than one patient needing a transplant but it would be rare that you are asked to donate again to a different patient. However, you may be asked to donate bone marrow twice to one patient if the first transplant did not "take". After donating you will be retired from the registry for one year. At the end of this period we will contact you and invite you to rejoin the registry. The choice to rejoin or retire is completely yours.


Q.How else can I help?

If you have joined or are thinking of joining the ABMDR, and you are wondering what else can you do to help, you can become a platelet donor.

Platelets are needed to control bleeding. Patients often develop very low platelet counts following chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation. Sometimes patients need platelets from special matched donors.

Platelet donation is like a regular blood donation, except that it takes a little longer and involves selective removal of platelets using a dedicated machine. There is no requirement for general anaesthesia and the risk to the donor is essentially the same as for a blood donation.

Donors of the ABMDR are tissue typed and are ideal donors for tissue typed matched platelet donation. Platelet donation is entirely voluntary and your decision whether or not to participate will not affect your ability to be available for bone marrow or stem cell donation.

For more information about platelets donation contact Australian Red Cross Blood Service.


Q.Is there a hospital in Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA) or Tasmania (TAS) where a person can donate cord blood?
There are three public cord blood banks in Australia (one each in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne). They collect cord blood in a small number of centres in each of those states which can be matched and provided to anyone in need of a cord blood transplant. These collection sites currently provide sufficient cord blood for the requirements of Australian patients. Although there are no collection facilities in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania, all Australian patients have equal access to the cords in the Australian public banks.
Q.Are there exemptions to the donor eligibility criteria?
In almost all cases there are no exemptions to the donor eligibility criteria as they have been written to get the best outcomes for our patients and to protect your safety as a donor. In some cases, when there is a difficultly finding a donor, the ABMDR will initiate a drive to recruit donors of a particular background. In this very specific circumstance the ABMDR may relax one or more criteria. This decision is made by medical personnel of the Registry and taking in consideration the donor’s safety.
Q.Can I make contact with the patient after the transplant to wish them well?
Your donor centre coordinator can pass on a card or letter from you for the patient via the ABMDR national office provided you have not included any identifying details. There are some registries that due to national legislation do not allow any correspondence or contact between donor and patient. If you would like to release any of your personal contact details to the patient or their family, you need to sign a consent form authorising the release of your personal information. If both the donor and the patient agree to release their details, each of you will receive these details and can act on them or not as you wish
Q.Can I make contact with my donor to thank them?
If you want to thank your donor, contact your doctor or the transplant coordinator at your hospital. You will be able to send a card or letter through them. That correspondence will be checked so no identifying details are disclosed in the correspondence. If you would like to release any of your personal contact details to the donor, you will need to sign a consent form that gives us permission to release your personal information to your donor. If both agree to release their personal details, the ABMDR will pass on the information and you can act on them or not as you wish.
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