If your tissue type matches a patient, there will be additional testing. If your tissue type is still the best match, you will then be asked to donate your healthy cells.
You will be contacted and asked to attend an information session to learn more about the donation process. At that time, you will be told the type of donation being requested: either bone marrow or cells collected from the blood, called peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) donation.
The Be The Match Registry® works with donors throughout the entire donation process. The Be The Match Registry is the registry of the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program and is operated under Federal contracts by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP).
On this page:
A Be The Match Registry representative will contact you if your tissue type matches a patient needing a life-saving transplant. However, before you can donate your bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, you will:
After you agree to donate your bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, the patient begins preparing for the transplant. By the time you begin the donation, the patient has finished treatment to prepare for the transplant and can no longer produce any healthy blood cells. The patient needs your healthy cells to live.
The patient’s doctor chooses the type of donation—bone marrow or PBSC—based on what will give the best transplant results for this patient.
Marrow donation is a surgical procedure done in a hospital:
After the procedure, you will probably feel some soreness in your back for a few days, or possibly a week or more. Most donors are back to their normal routine in a few days.
To learn more about this process, see Marrow Donation FAQs.
The preparation for and the donation of PBSC are non-surgical procedures:
The procedure to donate PBSC takes approximately 4 to 6 hours. The effects of the injections that increased the blood-forming cells in your bloodstream will go away shortly after the procedure, usually in a few days.
PBSC is being studied under a research protocol accepted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Under this protocol, the NMDP is monitoring the effects of the donor's experience while receiving filgrastim. PBSC donors are given detailed information about the clinical study and sign a consent form before donating.
To learn more about PBSC donation, see PBSC Donation FAQs
The NMDP wants to ensure your safety before and after you donate your cells. Your Be The Match donor center coordinator will follow up with you until you are able to return to your normal activities.
Learn more about donating marrow or PBSC.