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Save a Life - Be a Bone Marrow Donor

I have Aplastic Anemia - You have the cure - bone marrow transplant

i have aplastic anemia - i need transfusions - you have my lifeline

Ask me about Aplastic Anemia

Bone marrow is NOT taken for an HLA matching test; rather, blood is taken from a potential donor. The proteins needed to run an HLA matching test are taken off of the red blood cells of the potential donor.

how is bone marrow taken for a donation?

Bone marrow can be extracted from a donor in several manners; the two most common methods of acquiring bone marrow from a donor are from the blood stream, and from the bone marrow.

A bone marrow transplant is really a transplant of blood stem cells. Blood stem cells produce blood cells. The body is full of blood stem cells; they are in the tissues, the blood stream, and throughout a person's body. A major number of blood stem cells exist in the bone marrow where blood cells are created. The bone marrow is the center portion of all bones. The largest bone marrow depositories in a person's body are in their hips and breast bone.

The numbers of blood stem cells that exist in the blood stream are insufficient for an effective bone marrow transplant. In cases in which doctors seek to extract blood stem cells from the blood stream, a drug is given to the donor that causes a proliferation of blood stem cells into the blood stream. Once there is a sufficient quantity of blood stem cells in the bloodstream, the donation of the stem cells is a simple matter of a giving blood.

Blood stem cell donations from the bloodstream is not the preferred method.

Blood stem cells taken directly from the bone marrow are more plentiful, and research has indicated that in some situations, bone marrow donations are much more successful.

Blood stem cell donations from the marrow are usually extrapolated from the hips in a place called the dimple. The donor is taken into outpatient surgery because they are put under anesthesia so that they cannot feel the aspiration of bone marrow. The process takes about 2-3 hours.

a tribute to donors

"Thank you" can have a multitude of meanings. To a recipient of a bone marrow donor, the thank you's are priceless - they are thanks for life, literally.

Thank you to Nick for donating blood stem cells to his sister, Victoria; you gave the gift of life. You are our hero.

aplastic anemia Information:

For more information about Aplastic Anemia, please consider these sites:

Aplastic Anemia Association

One Life Matters BLOG

Marrow.Org

Bone Marrow Donation

Bone Marrow Testing