katfis12345

We only take a small part of marrow and yes it grows back! It’s very liquid so you can think of it as just taking a few spoonfuls of soup from a bowl. It will grow back all within a few days. It does not shorten the donors lifespan.

Getting into the registry is easy as mentioned above just with a cheek swab. If you are a match, they call you and ask to do further testing. If you agree, and truly are the best match then they decide if logistics will work, there is lots of screening to make sure you don’t have an infection, and then they decide if the donation should be peripheral or by bone marrow harvest. The majority is peripheral donation which involves a shot that pushes your marrow cells into your peripheral blood. We give this to chemo patients frequently to support their marrow and the most common side effect is feeling a bit achy, but nothing crazy. The collection after that is similar to the process of collecting platelets. It’s all done as an outpatient. If you donate by bone marrow harvest it’s more complicated but still only requires an overnight in the hospital. I have never heard a donor say it wasn’t worth the process.

You’re right, usually about a liter or even two. My analogy should have been more clear to clarify few spoonfuls of a bowl of soup! (Not a few spoonfuls literally)

It’s mostly apheresis, although for certain scenarios that are mostly related to the recipient (concerns about engraftment and risks surrounding graft versus host disease) bone marrow harvests are still done.

Recipients 100% recover