A few months ago, a comedian from the UK, Al Murray, brought to light the need that leukemia patients have for stem cell donors. His nephew needs a transplant that could save his life whose last resort, as many other patients, is linked to stem cell donors.
Stem cell transplants replace a person’s defective cells with a donor’s healthy cells. These are potentially life-saving procedures for those suffering from at least 70 different diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell anemia.
Most of our stem cells are found in bone marrow, and they develop into three types of blood cells that our body needs. Red blood cells carry our oxygen, white blood cells fight infection and platelets help clot our blood.
Each year more than 50,000 patients receive transplants. Around one-third of the time, a donor can be found within the infected person’s family. However, the other two-thirds require healthy cells from a matching donor. A swab kit can be ordered online and sent to your home to find out if you’re a possible stem cell match.
Who Can Donate?
Depending on where you live in the world, healthy adults aged 16-60 can participate as a stem cell donor. Healthy young adults between the ages of 16-30 make the best donors, as they have the highest rate of success.
Healthier older patients can still donate but with a lower success rate. Donations are still encouraged by older donors because the cost for match testing, at around $40 per test, still funds the effort. This way even if someone is not a match, or not healthy enough, the money still helps.
What are the Risks Involved?
There are three ways to donate stem cells.
The first is through a bone marrow transplant, which is only performed 10% of the time. This is collected from a donor’s pelvis but comes with risks involving the use of anesthetics used during surgery. Most people recover from their effects within a few days.
The second procedure is called peripheral blood, 90% of donors use this method. A hormone-like substance is injected into the bloodstream a few days before it is collected. This enables the stem cells to move from the bone marrow and multiply at a faster rate. You may experience some discomfort from the drugs administered before the treatment, but side effects are generally not very serious.
The third way is from umbilical cord blood. This is low risk and is a matter of donating an umbilical cord after birth. The blood left behind from the placenta is then stored and frozen until it is needed.
Those who would like to donate can go to The World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) to find out more information.
I would also like to point out, that for those people who are uncomfortable donating stem cells, there are many people in need of blood donations across the world. Qualified donors are needed for whole blood donations, platelet donations, and plasma donations. These procedures are much less invasive and most take less than an hour of our time. Everyone knows someone who has been in a bad accident or has taken a trip to the emergency room. Without blood donations, many people would not have a second chance at life.
For those who are interested please follow the attached links to find out how you could help save a life, either through a stem cell, blood, or financial donation.
