Education
Facts about Bone Marrow Donations & Transplants
Bone marrow is the tissue in the core of the body's flat bones. It continually produces red and white blood cells and platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. White blood cells fight disease. Platelets enable blood to clot and stop bleeding.
A bone marrow transplant may be necessary when there is a breakdown in a person's bone marrow that impedes or prevents the production of blood cells. Since the function of blood cells within the body is so important, any breakdown in their production can be life-threatening.
A bone marrow transplant is used as a treatment for many different serious diseases. Cancers that affect the blood such as leukemia and lymphoma are sometimes treated with a bone marrow transplant. Transplantation may also be required for the treatment of blood diseases such as aplastic anemia.
Some diseases treatable by bone marrow transplant
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute myelogenous leukemia
Aplastic anemia
Adrenoleukodystrophy
Chronic myelogenous leukemia
Fanconi's anemia
Hodgkin's disease
Hunter's syndrome
Hurler's syndrome
Lysosomal storage disease
Multiple myeloma
Myelodysplasia
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Osteopetrosis
Severe combined immune deficiency
Thalassemia
Wiskott Aldrich syndrome
Some other forms of cancer
Some autoimmune disorders
Matching a bone marrow donor to a patient in need of a transplant is a very exacting and complicated process. A test called the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) test classifies people by special markers located on their white blood cells. This test is used to match donors and recipients. If a patient has an identical twin, an exact match is almost certain. There is a 25 percent chance that a match exists between a patient and one of the patient's siblings. However, this does not mean that of every four siblings, one will have bone marrow matching the patient. The chance of finding a match from the general population is, at best, one in 10,000.
Because a person inherits the genetic traits that determine a compatible match (in much the same way as one inherits eye, skin or hair color), it is most likely that a patient will find a donor within his or her own racial or ethnic group. In other words, it is most likely that an African American patient will find a donor among African Americas, an Asian American among Asian Americans, Hispanics among Hispanics, Native Americans among Native Americans, and Americans of European origin among others of European origin.
Bone marrow donor registries in the United States and throughout the world list hundreds of thousands of potential bone marrow donors. The greater the number of potential donors, the better the chance will be of finding a match for a patient. The national programs in the United States are the American Bone Marrow Donor Registry and the National Marrow Donor Program.
Get Involved
My Friends Care Cancer Fund is always in need of people willing to help the organization provide help and hope for those in dire need of our services. Our current openings for volunteer help include:
Office clerical volunteers
Office clerical volunteers work at our office in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Duties include answering telephones, filing, typing, computer entry, collating literature, etc. Each office volunteer generally works in the office one day per week, usually from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Data entry volunteers
Data entry volunteers work at our Mount Clemens office entering data into our computer system. Training on the database is provided. Data entry volunteers generally work one day per week, usually from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.
Event volunteers
Event volunteers work on a single special event. They prepare invitations, complete mailings, solicit sponsors and vendors, auction and raffle items, and help with setup and cleanup at the event.
Board Committee volunteers
Board Committee volunteers become a member of one of the Board of Directors'' standing committees. These committees usually meet once per month in the evening. The following are standing committees of the Board for which membership is open: Development (fund-raising), Public Relations (including a Speaker''s Bureau), Client Services, and Technology.
Make a Donation
My Friends Care Cancer Fund does not charge clients for our service; therefore, we are dependent upon financial contributions for our survival. My Friends Care is most grateful for your generosity. Your contribution will either help patients or pay for testing and adding potential marrow donors to the national registry. Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law.
You can make a donation in one of several ways.
Pay Pal
To use Pay Pal to send a donation, click on the Pay Pal Donate button below. You do not need to have a Pay Pal account to use this option, but you will need a credit card if you do not have a Pay Pal account. Pay Pal provides a fast, easy, and secure way to make a donation via the Internet.
Call Our Office with Your Credit Card Information
You can call our office at 586.783.7390 to make a donation with your credit card.
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Non-Financial Contributions
My Friends Care Cancer Fund has need of contributions other than financial. Goods and services donated to the organization are used in conjunction with raffles and special events to raise funds for the organization. If you have goods or services you would be willing to donate, call 586.783.7390 for more information. Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law. |
Glossary
The Transplantation Process
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A patients physician begins a preliminary search of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry.
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A list of potential matches (donors whose HLA-ABDR antigens match the patient) are sent to the physician, who requests further testing of the donors blood.
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From these results, the physician determines whether there is a match.
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If a match is found, the patient undergoes pre-transplant conditioning, consisting of radiation and chemotherapy, for seven to ten days.
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The donated marrow is transfused directly into the patients blood stream, much like a blood transfusion. Healthy marrow cells travel to bone cavities, where they begin to grow and replace the old marrow.
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The patient must be isolated in a germ-free environment until the new marrow produces enough white blood cells to fight off disease.
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An increased white blood count, a sign that the transplant is beginning to function, generally appears about three to four weeks after the procedure.
- The patient may be removed from protective isolation three to six weeks after transplant, as long as the new marrow continues to produce white blood cells and there are no serious complications.