Why you should consider being a donor
Every 31 minutes someone in Australia is diagnosed with blood cancer, and for many a blood stem cell transplant from a stranger is the only hope.
Younger donors result in better outcomes for patients, so there is an urgent need for 18-35 year olds to register and increase their chances of finding the best match. Young men in particular make important donors as they weigh more so they literally have more to give.
Ethnic diversity is also important as patients are more likely to find a match with a donor of the same ethnic background.
4 easy steps to registering to be a donor
1. Cheek Swab
2. Fill Out Donor Registry Form
3. Place Donor Form and Swabs in the Envelope
4. Post Envelope!
what it’s like to donate
In Australia 90% of blood stem cell donations are like a long blood donation, with the donor fully awake. In about 10% of cases, often when the patient is a child, a one day surgical procedure will be needed to extract bone marrow from the hip bone. This is done under general anaesthetic, so you won’t feel a thing! Regardless of the type of donation the body replenishes the donated stem cells in about 4 to 6 weeks.
Whats Involved with being a donor
To register you will provide a tissue sample using a cheek swab
If your tissue type matches with someone you can help, you’ll either donate blood stem cells or bone marrow
90% of the time donations are blood stem cell donations which are just like giving blood
10% of donors are asked to donate bone marrow and this is usually for a child. Bone marrow is taken from the back of your hip and is a short procedure
Age and Gender of donors
When it comes to bone marrow and blood donations doctors prefer donors aged 18-30 years old because younger patients tend to be better donors. Doctors also tend to select males over females as they often larger and therefore able to donate more stem cells which is better for patients.
what makes a good donor mAtch
Tissue Type
CMV (Cytomegalovirus) Status - donor and patient both have to test the same for this virus type
Donor Age - younger donors are better candidates
Are you an eligible donor?
If you are aged between 18-30 then you are in the ideal age bracket to become a donor, but you are still able to register to be a donor up until the age of 35. You also need to be willing to donate, anonymously, to any patient in Australia or overseas and hold a valid Medicare card.
You need to be able to answer “NO” to the following questions:
Have you ever been diagnosed with thalassaemia major?
Have you ever received an organ or bone marrow transplant?
Have you ever suffered a stroke or heart attack?
Have you ever had a positive test for HTLV or HIV?
Cancer of any kind (except basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin)
Pre-cancerous conditions, such as cervical abnormalities
Auto-immune diseases (except minor conditions like psoriasis or vitiligo)
