The Donation Process

It can take up to 60 days for the patient's doctor to get test results and select a donor. The patient's health conditions also are a determining factor in the process time. You may be asked to donate right away, or to wait until the patient is ready.

Types of Donation: Bone Marrow & PBSC Donation

(adapted by me from the NMDP website)

Bone Marrow donation is a surgical procedure done under anesthesia. Doctors use special, hollow needles to withdraw liquid marrow from the back of your pelvic bones. Many donors receive a transfusion of their own, already donated, blood.

^ Bone Marrow Diagram

PBSC donation takes place at an apheresis center. You receive daily injections of a drug called filgrastim five days p rior to collection-- to increase the amount of blood-forming cells in your bloodstream. Your blood is then removed with a sterile needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to you.