Cancer Care
Marrow Donor Center

National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)

St. Luke's MSTI actively participates in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).  This program gives hope to individuals in need of a bone marrow transplant.  St. Luke’s MSTI Marrow Donor Center provides this service throughout southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. 

Every year thousands of children and adults are diagnosed with leukemia or other potentially fatal diseases.  For many patients, their only chance for survival is a transplant.  This means replacing the diseased marrow cells with a donor’s healthy cells.  The donor’s tissue type, or HLA type (Human Leukocyte Antigen), must match as closely as possible to the patient’s.  Because the genetic characteristics determining a marrow type are inherited, a patient’s best chance of finding a matched donor is within his or her own family.  Unfortunately, only 30% of patients find a matched donor within their own family. 

To help the nearly 70% of patients in need of transplants, the U.S. Congress established the National Marrow Donor Program in 1986.  Now a patient can search for an unrelated donor from the volunteer donors on the NMDP Registry.

Every donor on the NMDP Registry is important to the many patients needing a transplant.  The more donors of all racial and ethnic groups placed on the NMDP Registry, the better chance patients have of finding a match. 

The Donation Process

After joining the NMDP Registry, you might someday be asked to consider donating your stem cells or marrow to help save the life of a patient with a life-threatening illness.  There are two ways of donating the needed lifesaving stem cells. 

The first method: Marrow Collection
The donor’s marrow is collected by a surgical procedure that occurs in a hospital operating room.  The donor receives general anesthesia.  The marrow is removed from the back of the pelvic bone using sterile needles and syringes.  The collection is a same-day surgery and the donor may have pain and aches for several days to a few weeks.  The donor’s marrow replenishes itself within four to six weeks. 

The second method: Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC) Collection
The donor receives injections of a stem cell growth factor called Filgrastim for five consecutive days.  This medication increases the number of stem cells released from the marrow into the blood stream.  The donor’s stem cells, which are the cells needed for the transplant, are collected by an apheresis procedure. 

During the collection, the donor’s blood is removed through a sterile needle placed in a vein in one arm and passed through the cell-separating instrument that separates out the stem cells.  The remaining blood, minus the stem cells, is returned to the donor through a sterile needle in the other arm.  PBSC donors can experience bone pain prior to the donation procedure as a result of receiving Filgrastim.  The side effects diminish over one to two days after the last dose is given.  Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC) collection is a research study through the NMDP. 

NMDP Registry Health Guidelines

It is important to donors and patients alike that all donations be as safe as possible.  Therefore, it is important that the donor is in good health and has no foreseeable health risks. 
Here are some of the health conditions that would prevent you from donating:

• High-risk behavior for HIV or hepatitis (e.g., IV drug use, jaundice)
• Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C (Fully recovered Hepatitis A is acceptable.)
• Heart problems (e.g., heart attack, heart surgery, coronary artery disease)
• Cancer (Only cured skin cancer and cervical or breast cancer “in situ” or “Stage 0” are acceptable.)
• Asthma – oral steroids-dependent (Exercise-induced or well-controlled using an inhaler is acceptable.)
• Diabetes – insulin-dependent (Well-controlled by either diet or oral medications is acceptable.)
• Neck, back, hip, or spine problems (e.g., herniated or bulging disk, recent back surgery)
• Auto-immune/neurological disorders (e.g., lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis)
• Transplant recipient (i.e., organ, tissue, marrow, or xenotransplant)
• Hypertension – uncontrolled high blood pressure (Controlled by medication is acceptable.)
• Epilepsy – uncontrolled seizures (Well-controlled epilepsy and no seizures in the past year is acceptable.)
• Significant obesity (More than 25% of maximum ideal weight.)

If you have any questions about specific medical conditions, go to the NMDP Health Guidelines Website or call Mark Allen at (208) 381-3109 or 1-800-845-4624 or e-mail allenm@slhs.org.

Joining the NMDP Registry

To join the NMDP Registry, you must:

• Be between the ages of 18-60                        
• Meet the health guidelines
• Fill out a consent form                      
• Collect a cheek cell swab
• Be willing to donate to any patient in need

The entire registration process can be done through the mail.

There is no cost to you to join the NMDP registry through St. Luke’s.  Donations to the St. Luke’s Health Foundation will help put more donors on the NMDP Registry.  Please direct your donations to the Marrow Donor Center by filling in the “other” box in step 2.

To have registration information mailed to you, call Mark Allen at 1-800-845-4624 or (208) 381-3109 or e-mail allenm@slhs.org.