Who Can Donate Bone Marrow for a Family Member? A Guide for Nigerians

Who can donate bone marrow for a family member? Discover the eligibility rules, matching process, and steps Nigerians need to follow. Learn more inside.

Who Can Donate Bone Marrow for a Family Member? A Guide for Nigerians

A bone marrow transplant might be a significant treatment option for family members with blood disorders like sickle cell disease, leukemia, aplastic anemia or some inherited immune disorders in Nigeria. One of the initial inquiries that families have is: Who can donate bone marrow?

One essential aspect of transplanting is the need to find an appropriate donor. Blood relations could be a possible donor but not necessarily. Rarely, doctors have to conduct more special tests to see if the donor and the recipient match. This guide provides information on who can donate bone marrow, how donor matching works and what Nigerian patients should know when considering bone marrow transplant in India through GetWellGo.

What is Bone Marrow Donation?

Bone marrow is tissue inside some types of bone that makes blood cells such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. For some severe illnesses, the bone marrow may not be able to work properly or to make abnormal cells. Also called a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), a bone marrow transplant is the replacement of damaged or diseased blood-forming stem cells with healthy stem cells from a donor or the patient's own body. Bone marrow donation is the procedure by which healthy blood-forming stem cells (BFSC) are removed from a donor who is compatible with the recipient. The recipient is then infused with these cells following proper medical preparation.

When is it Safe to Donate Bone Marrow to a Family Member?

Ideally, the donor should be a person with a tissue type similar to the patient's human leukocyte antigen, or HLA. Family members are most likely to be tested first since they have a greater likelihood of sharing markers that are compatible.

Possible donors can be:

  • Brothers and sisters
  • Parents
  • Children
  • Other close relatives
  • The extended family in some instances

But family relationship is not the only criterion for eligibility; it also depends on medical assessment and HLA matching.

Siblings

  • Related donors, often siblings are first considered for related donor transplantation. Since siblings share the same parent, they are more likely to be a complete HLA match.
  • Not all siblings are going to get along. HLA testing is used before making a final decision on the possibility of a sibling donor.

Parents

  • Sometimes parents can donate stem cells to their children. A parent could be a "half-match" (haploidentical donor).
  • Selected patients now being treated can have a bone marrow transplant from a family member who is a half-match. This is decided by the transplant team depending on the type of disease, the age of patient, overall health and availability of donors.

Children

  • Sometimes stem cells from one of the biological children of an adult patient can be used. Just like parental donation, this can be considered a "haploidentical" match.
  • Before preceding the transplant specialist assesses donor and recipient.

Other Relatives

  • Relatives such as cousins, uncles, aunts and others may be considered at times. The chances for finding someone that matches become lower, however, the further away the biological relationship.
  • When there is no family donor, doctors will look for donors elsewhere in the world through donors' registries or other donor options.

What is HLA Matching?

One of the most crucial pieces of information to consider for determining who can donate bone marrow is HLA matching. HLA proteins are proteins located on the surface of the cells. They assist the immune system to recognise the difference between the body and foreign substances. Prior to bone marrow transplantation, the patient and the candidate donor(s) are HLA typed. The outcomes are contrasted in order to determine the level of compatibility. A closer HLA match may mean lower risk of complications including graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) which is an attack by the donor's immune system on the recipient's tissues.

Several factors are taken into account by doctors:

  • HLA compatibility
  • Donor age
  • Overall health
  • Blood group (if applicable)
  • Infectious disease screening
  • Medical history
  • The body weight and health.

Blood group compatibility may not be required for bone marrow donation. The ability of a donor to be compatible with a recipient typically depends more on HLA compatibility.

Can Blood Group Match Guarantee Bone Marrow Donation?

Blood group compatibility of the donor and recipient does not dictate whether the donor can donate to the recipient's bone marrow. A relative, for instance, might have the same blood group as the patient but be poor HLA match. On the other hand, a donor who does not have the same blood group might be acceptable in certain circumstances. For this reason, special HLA testing is necessary prior to donor selection.

Who Can Be a Bone Marrow Donor?

Before a person can become a donor, he or she will need a comprehensive medical examination. The selection process is different at each transplant center and medical regulations.

In general, the donor should:

  • Be in good overall health.
  • Be able to meet the minimum age standards of the transplant center.
  • Not have major uncontrolled medical conditions.
  • Pass infectious disease tests.
  • Be in good health for receiving stem cell collections.
  • Voluntarily give informed consent.
  • Some medical conditions, infections or medications can preclude donating.

The final decision is always based on the opinion of the transplant physician and donor evaluation team.

Where Does Bone Marrow Come From?

There are 2 main ways to harvest blood-forming stem cells.

Donation of stem cells from peripheral blood

  • This is the most popular technique employed in many modern transplant centres.
  • A drug called granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is injected into the donor for a few days. This medicine makes the stem cells leave the bones in the marrow and enter the blood.
  • The donor then goes through a process called apheresis. Blood is drawn from a vein, the stem cells are filtered from the blood using a special machine and the other blood components are returned to the donor.
  • The process is the same as blood donation and typically takes about hours.

Bone Marrow Harvest

  • Stem cells can be harvested from the bone marrow typically from the pelvic bones.
  • Donor is put under anaesthesia during the procedure. A team of experts in medicine takes marrow cells from the bone that contains healthy stem cells.
  • The donor may feel a little sore or tired but most donors get better quite quickly.
  • The type of collection that is recommended is determined by the recipient's medical status and protocol.

Can a Family Member Donate If They Are Not a Full Match?

Yes, under some circumstances. The availability of a full HLA-matched sibling is sometimes preferred but progress in transplantation has given rise to the use of partially matched donors.

These may include:

  • Haploidentical family donors
  • Matched unrelated donors
  • Cord Blood Units.

Other alternative donor sources include:

  • The use of a partially matched donor will depend on the disease, the experience of the transplant center, conditioning treatment and the health of the patient.
  • All possible options should be explored by a transplant specialist before deciding that you need an unrelated donor.

What Happens If No Family Member Can Donate?

If there is no suitable family donor, there are international donor registries for searching for an unrelated compatible donor. Advanced transplant centres in India could offer other treatment options for Nigerian patients. Indian hospitals have set up specialised programs in haematology and bone marrow transplantation offering services to foreign nationals suffering from diseases like leukemia, lymphoma, thalassemia and sickle cell disease. GetWellGo assists the patients from abroad to arrange medical consultations, donor evaluation, medical testing, hospital selection, travel, lodging and treatment assistance in India.

Bone Marrow Transplant for Nigerian Patients

Nigeria is a significant sickle cell disease and other blood disorders burden which demands expert haematology services. When regular treatments are not enough or the disease is very serious, a bone marrow transplant might be recommended for some patients.

Prior to travelling to receive treatment, Nigerian families should obtain appropriate medical documentation such as:

  • Diagnosis reports
  • Blood test results
  • Previous treatment history
  • If already performed, the results of HLA typing reports.
  • Including imaging and biopsy reports, if available.
  • Medication history
  • Donor medical information

A consult with a transplant specialist by phone can help decide if transplantation is right for you and if there are any more tests that need to be done.

Conclusion

Many families who want to consider bone marrow transplantation should first learn about who can donate bone marrow to help. Siblings and other close family members are the first to be tested but it is not blood that is the key to compatibility but HLA tissue matching and medical suitability. In some instances, parents, children and partially matched family members may be considered as well. Consulting a qualified transplant specialist as early as possible can help Nigerian patients identify potential donors and the best course of treatment. GetWellGo aids families to reach out to skilled Indian hospitals and transplant surgeons and also arranges the logistics of overseas medical care.

Bone Marrow Transplant GetWellGo

GetWellGo is regarded as a leading supplier of healthcare services. We help our Nigerian clients choose the best treatment locations that suit their needs both financially and medically.

We offer:

  • Complete transparency
  • Fair costs.
  • 24 hour availability.
  • Medical E-visas
  • Online consultation from recognized Indian experts.
  • Assistance in selecting India's top hospitals for Bone Marrow Transplant.
  • Expert haematologist with a strong track record of success
  • Assistance during and after the course of treatment.
  • Language Support
  • Travel and Accommodation Services
  • Case manager assigned to every patient to provide seamless support in and out of the hospital like appointment booking
  • Local SIM Cards
  • Currency Exchange
  • Arranging Patient’s local food

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