What is involved in being a donor?
To register you will juts have to meet some basic eligibility requirements and provide a saliva sample via a cheek swab - find out if you’re eligible here.
ARE YOU AN ELIGIBLE DONOR?
If you are aged between 18-35 years old, then you are the ideal age bracket to become a donor. 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)
If you match with someone you can help you will either donate peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) or bone marrow
This is some more information about the two types of donation!
PBSC Donation
Bone Marrow Donation, under anaesthetic
Donating PBSC is similar to giving blood and is done at experienced hospitals, in major cities around Australia, as an outpatient procedure
If you donate bone marrow it will be taken from the back of your hip in a short procedure performed under general anaesthetic, so you won’t feel a thing