People usually donate stem cells to an allogeneic transplant as a consequence of having either a loved one or some relatives. Others donate stem cells for an autologous transplant so that they can utilize them later. In this article, let us walk you through the registration for stem cell donation.
Stem Cell Registration – Initial Step
As only 30% of patients find a pair among their families, 70% of patients have to rely on voluntary donors of the stem cells through the worldwide registration of donors. Today the majority of drives have swab kits that use cells that are harvested from inside the cheek on a large cotton swab.
They are wrapped and forwarded to a tissue typing laboratory to find the HLA indicators. Upon deciding the type of the tissue, this data is entered into the registry and made open to physicians and donation centers for global inquiries.
Criteria of donors
While anyone aged between 18 to 60 are eligible to join the registration, young and male are the frequent donors. Young people develop to generate more stem cells because of their greater physical size.
The most demanded group of donors is from 18 to 35, but all the donors can stay in the donation registry until 61 years of age and many donors are contacted from the age group of 36 to 60.
Finding the key factors
In order to find out how the human leukocyte antimicrobial capacity–key factors in the immune system is closely matched to the tissue type of the donor.
The donor is asked to donate blood into a lab for HLA examination. A match can be either partial or perfect. Infectious disease examinations are also conducted in the examination.
Second step of Registration – Planning
The CT group must inform the donor on the protocols ensuring that he/she is completely aware of the entire process. The commitment is essential as the recipient receives rigorous treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation once this donation has been planned. This makes the bone marrow and immune system completely weak, which means that you can no longer produce blood cells from your body.
The patient must plan the donation as soon as the donor has agreed for the process. Everything must be put into motion so that the process is carried out smoothly. A donor will also have a physical examination for the transplant, such as Neupogen injections to promote the production of stem cells. Being a stem cell donor need to be prepared a few days ahead-a regular injection is provided to encourage stem cells to keep moving out of the bones to the bloodstream. The initial injection is given in a hospital and the donor is usually administered at the residence of the patient.
Final Verdict
The blood of the donor is taken at the donation center from an arm and then transferred to another arm by an apheresis machine. The blood is separated into its sections inside the system and only the stem cells are extracted and stored. The registration process may take a couple of hours so the donor must consume immediately after donation.
Contact US:
Gift of Life Marrow Registry Address: 800 Yamato Rd suite 101 Boca Raton, FL Phone: (800) 962-7769