 |
Bone Marrow Drive
& National Marrow Donor Program |
NATIONAL
MARROW DONOR PROGRAM
Every
year, thousands of adults and children need bone marrow
or blood stem cell transplants, a procedure which
may be their only chance for survival. The National
Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) mission is to establish
a system which provides transplants of stem cells from
unrelated donors for patients with Leukemia and other
life-threatening blood diseases.
There
is a critical need for more volunteer donors. Many patients,
especially people of different ethnic groups, cannot
find a compatible donor among those on the registry.
Patients and donors must have matching tissue types,
and these matches are found most often between people
of the same ethnic group. A large, ethnically diverse
group of prospective donors will give more patients
a chance for survival.
Q:
How can I go about scheduling a bone marrow drive?
A: Call the Central California Blood Center at
(559) 224-2900, extension 3015.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BEING A
MARROW DONOR
As part
of the process of participating in the National Marrow
Donor Program (NMDP), we first want to make sure you are
medically eligible to be a donor. The purpose of this
health screen is to minimize the risks to both the patient
and you, the potential donor. The following information
should be carefully reviewed, before you decide to be
tested.
AGE RESTRICTIONS:
Donors
must be at least 18 years of age and must not have
reached their 60th birthday. Once recruited,
donors will stay in the Registry until their 61st
birthday.
Some medical conditions that are
PERMANENT DEFERRALS for donors:
-
Personal
history of heart attack, coronary artery disease or
stroke.
-
Cancer,
except cured skin cancer (not melanoma), or cervical
cancer.
-
At
risk for HIV or Hepatitis.
-
Obesity
(donors cannot exceed weight guidelines specified
below)
-
Diabetes
(unless controlled by diet)
-
Chronic
Asthma that requires daily
medication or inhalers, seasonal/exercise induced asthma with no attacks in last five years is
accepted.
-
Fibromyalgia
or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
-
Chronic
Back Problems or back
surgery within the last five years.
-
Attention
Deficit Disorder or
Narcolepsy requiring Ritalin or Adderall.
-
Psychiatric
Illness: Psychosis,
bipolar disorder, severe depression, any psychiatric
problem requiring hospitalization in the last six
years or the medication Lithium.
-
Mitral
Valve Prolapse with
symptoms or treated by medication.
-
Chronic
Illness: Such as multiple
sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, rheumatoid or severe
arthritis, osteoporosis, and wheelchair confinement.
TEMPORARY DEFERRALS:
-
Blood
Transfusion – 12-month
deferral.
-
Pregnancy:
prefer to wait until delivery to draw sample, unless
expectant mother wants to be drawn and understands
she does have a small chance of infection from the
draw site.
-
Epilepsy:
must be seizure free for one year and controlled by
medication.
-
Major
Surgery: six-month
deferral.
NATIONAL MARROW DONOR
PROGRAM
DONOR WEIGHT
GUIDELINES:
Height
Maximum Weight
4’
10”
191
4’
11”
198
5’
0”
204
5’
1”
211
5’
2”
218
5’
3”
225
5’
4”
233
5’
5”
240
5’
6”
247
5’
7”
255
5’
8” 263
5’
9”
270
5’
10”
278
5’
11” 286
6’ 0” and
above
290
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CLICK ON THESE LINKS:
|
