To donate blood stem cells

According to the regulations for donation and transplantation of hemopoietic stem cells from non-relative donors, transplantations of blood stem cells in Switzerland from non-relative donors are done in children and adults up to age 65. For patients between the ages of 65 and 89, there are special criteria.

In the transplantation of organs, organ parts or cells, the overriding goal is to have a complete match of the HLA system, depending on the type of material being transplanted. Before any transplantation of blood stem cells, the blood of the donor and patient is evaluated for reciprocal tissue compatibility.

Bone marrow is obtained from the iliac crest through multiple punctures with a syringe. The harvest is done under full anesthesia and performed by specialists in one of the harvest centers in Basel, Geneva or Zurich. Usually the donor can already leave the hospital the day after the procedure.

For a few days after the procedure, a donor can expect to have some pain at the puncture sites as well as fatigue due to the anesthesia and blood loss. Otherwise there are no other health impairments or permanent side effects to be expected. The bone marrow completely regenerates within a few weeks.

In contrast to transplantation between unrelated individuals, in familial transplantation healthy blood stem cells are transferred between siblings. The chance of finding a compatible donor within the family is about 25%.

In the collection of peripheral blood stem cells, blood flows through a venous catheter to a cell separator. This separates the blood stem cells from the blood and collects them. Then the blood flows through a second venous catheter back to the donor. This type of donation takes 3 to 6 hours and is done outpatient at one of the harvest centers.

If there is a low yield of blood stem cells on the first day of collection, another collection can be done on the following day. In rare cases a third blood apheresis is required.

The request for donation comes through the regional blood transfusion service. After a face to face meeting with the doctor and consent of the donor, blood samples are taken to determine the donor's blood donation compatibility and repeated and more in-depth typing and tissue compatibility tests are done.

Harvesting of blood stem cells per se, is only done when donor suitability has been confirmed by a doctor and tissue compatibility testing shows a match with the patient's blood.

Blood stem cells have a very short lifespan and must be brought to the transplantation center and transplanted as quickly as possible. This means that the harvesting and transplantation must be coordinated so that the harvested blood stem cells can be transplanted, at the latest, within 48 to 72 hours - even when the transport distance is over thousands of kilometers.

The likelihood of finding a matching blood stem cell donor very much depends on the combination of the various HLA antigens (tissue markers).

The chances of this vary greatly, but are usually very small. Therefore, it's important that as many people worldwide as possible are willing to register as a blood stem cell donor.

Today's harvesting techniques involve very safe and established methods to ensure that a donation is usually well tolerated, except for a few unpleasant, short term, side effects. Very rarely, serious side effects may occur, but through in depth questioning and medical examination prior to the donation, your state of health is evaluated. The donation will only take place if there is no increased risk to your health.

A rare, but possible, risk connected to the administration of growth factors (G-CSF) is thrombosis. Negative side effects have also been observed with donors that have a predisposition to inflammatory diseases. Based on the  available data of healthy donors that have received G-CSF, no relevant long-term complications have been observed. Only in very few cases, rupture of the spleen has occurred. The data from different donor registries shows that administration of G-CSF is safe. Compared to the non-donating population, there is no increase in tumor-related diseases. To contain the risk of side effects due to growth factors, in Switzerland the same donor can only donate peripheral blood stem cells once.

Because studies on the long term side effects of growth factors are not yet conclusive, the donor's blood is periodically checked after donation. So far the results have not shown any negative effects compared to the normal population.

With a donation of peripheral blood stem cells through the administration of growth factors, temporary flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, and joint pain, as well as fatigue, may occur. Here as well, the intensity of those symptoms may vary from individual to individual.

After the harvesting, you will have a possibly bothersome hematoma (bruise) in the iliac crest. You will possibly feel fatigued for a few days and you could have dull pain at the puncture site. This pain though only lasts a few days and can be alleviated with pain medication. However, the extent of side effects varies from individual to individual.

As with blood donation, the donor and recipient of blood stem cells may not know each other. This rule serves to protect the privacy of the donor and recipient. Therefore, the personal data of the donor remains anonymous, only a donor number is used in the registry of Swiss Blood Stem Cells as well as communications with the transplantation center.

For a blood stem cell transplantation a larger number of healthy, immature blood stem cells are needed. These can usually only be found in bone marrow. In blood and thus in a normal blood donation, there is almost exclusively mature blood cells.

About 5 days before the scheduled harvesting, the donor is given injections of growth factors to increase the number of blood stem cells. This can cause flu-like side effects such as headache and joint pain. With the harvesting itself, bleeding and/or pain can occur at the puncture site. Because studies on the long term effects of growth factors are not yet conclusive, the donor's blood is periodically checked after the procedure.

Voluntary donors are from the beginning entitled to comprehensive information and answers to their individual questions.

At registration or blood withdrawl for tissue compatibility tests or regarding question about blood stem cell donation, information is provided by doctors at the regional blood transfusion service. Prior to the harvesting of <dfn title="hematopoietic stem cells">blood stem cells</dfn>, the information is provided by doctors at the harvest center.

The donation of blood stem cells is made voluntarily and out of solidarity toward fellow human beings who are ill. Just as in blood donation, out of moral considerations no financial compensation is provided. However, all laboratory, doctor and hospital costs are covered. In addition, direct out of pocket expenses and loss of income are reimbursed should the donor's employer not do so.