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By Mayo Clinic staffTo determine if you're a match for the person who needs the transplant, doctors use a test called human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing. HLA proteins are inherited from your mother and father. Thus, full brothers and sisters are typically the best bet for a match. A close match increases the chances that the transplant recipient's body will accept the donated cells. If HLA typing shows that you're a good match, you'll undergo some additional tests and an examination to make sure you don't have any genetic or infectious diseases that can be passed on to the transplant recipient. Your doctor will also ask about your health and your family health history to determine whether donation will be safe for you.
If blood stem cells are going to be collected directly from your blood, you will be given medication to stimulate production of blood stem cells so that more of them are circulating in your bloodstream. That way they can be easily filtered from your blood.
The medication is typically given as an injection once a day for four days before and continuing through your donation. Your doctor will check your blood cell count. A nurse will determine which vein can be used for the donation process. If you have small veins in your arms or your veins have thin walls, you may need to have a central line put in a larger vein in your neck. This rarely causes side effects, but complications that can occur include air trapped between your lungs and your chest wall (pneumothorax), bleeding and infection.
On the fifth day, the blood stem cells are collected from your blood using a process called apheresis. During apheresis, blood is drawn out through a vein in your arm or a central line and sent through a machine that filters out the blood stem cells. After the filtering, your blood is returned to your body. Apheresis takes four to six hours and is done on an outpatient basis. You'll typically undergo two to four apheresis sessions, depending on how many blood stem cells are needed.
- Bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplants. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/eto_1_3_Bone_Marrow.asp. Accessed Feb. 18, 2009.
- Bone marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/bone-marrow-transplant. Accessed Feb. 19, 2009.
- What are stem cells? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4X_What_Are_Stem_Cells.asp?sitearea=ETO. Accessed Feb. 18, 2009.
- Filgrastim (granulocyte colony stimulating factor; G-CSF). Facts & Comparisons 4.0. http://www.factsandcomparisons.com. Accessed Feb. 18, 2009.
- HLA matching: Finding the best donor or cord blood unit. Be the Match Registry. Accessed May 4, 2009.
- Gronseth MJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 1, 2009.
