Bone Marrow - calling all co-survivors

[Mrs Moggi]

I recently learned that the mother of one of my son's schoolmates is fighting acure leukemia and is need of a bone marrow transplant. So, if you are a co-survivor and find yourself in the Madison, NJ area on January 17, please consider stopping in at the bone marrow registration drive at the Madison Junior School on Main St from 10 - 4. The drive is being run by DKMS, an international bone marrow registry.

If you want to register but can't attend in person, you can request a registration kit to be sent to you directly from DKMS at their website: www.dkmsamericas.org. The kit is free, but donations to cover the cost of the kit are welcomed. If you choose to register online, please make sure to reference the donor drive in honor of Kelli Wynne.

Thanks for this.

[dadmo]

Everyone who gives blood should make it a point to register as a bone marrow donor. All you have to do is fill out a form and let them take an extra vile of blood. It's simple, pain free and life saving.

[Paul54]

Jen,
This is vitally important and I hope they find a donor.

Although most cancer survivors in remission can donate blood (I can and do), very few can be marrow donors. It broke my heart to leave the registry.

[jonwil]

Jen,

Although most cancer survivors in remission can donate blood (I can and do),

Before those of us in the UK (and other parts of Europe???) rush off to offer our blood, the situation in the UK is somewhat different. The extracts below are from the UK Cancer Research and UK Blood Service. I don't know if the second Q/A applies to the US.

Q Can I donate blood if I have had cancer?
A No, you can’t donate blood if you have had cancer. The UK Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation services have guidelines about who can donate blood. The guidelines say that you can’t donate blood if you have had cancer, because there is a theoretical risk that a cancer cell could be passed on in the blood. But there is no evidence to prove that this is possible. It is very much a safety measure.

Q Why are people who have or think they may have received a blood transfusion since 1980 no longer able to give blood?
A This step has been implemented by all four of the UK Blood Services on 2nd August 2004. It is a further precautionary measure against the possible risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) being transmitted by blood and blood products.

Further info is at https://secure.blood.co.uk/c11_cant.asp

Europe is paranoid about the quality of blood donations and for those of you in the US, you may be interested to know that Brits who visit the US should not donate blood until 28 days after their return.

Jon

[Mrs Moggi]

You are excluded if you've had cancer but that doesn't let me, as a co-survivor, off the hook. I am however, prohibited from giving blood in the US because of my time in Britain. I'm not sure if I this makes me ineligible for bone marrow. You'd think that the risks of contracting mad cow disease from me is infinitely smaller than the risks of dying without a bone marrow transplant if I were a match but that remains to be seen. I get the risk for blood as the match doesn't have to be as tight (so you have other options) and the blood products ultimately get mixed and hard to track.

[Fed]

Although most cancer survivors in remission can donate blood (I can and do), very few can be marrow donors. It broke my heart to leave the registry.
Note that per Red Cross regulations, cancer survivors cannot be blood donors until five years after their last treatment (be it surgery, chemo or radiation). As an aside, one of the worst experiences I had post-cancer was receving a call at home from the Red Cross asking me to partake in a blood drive. I had to turn them down and ask them to remove me from the donor list because of my diagnosis... and I was only one pint away from getting my "gallon donation pin". :(

[Paul54]

This is from the Rhode Island Blood Center website. They are not affiliated with the Red Cross. I verified this info with a couple of phone calls explaining that I had TC and the prognosis. Hmmm, inconsistency?

Myth: I can't donate because I had cancer.

Truth: Depending on what type of cancer it was, you may still be able to donate if the cancer has been removed or eradicated and treated. Even if you received chemotherapy or radiation, if the cancer is gone, you can donate blood one year after completing treatment. If you didn't need chemotherapy or radiation, then you may be able to donate after you've recovered from surgery.

Jen, sorry, this is going off topic. Please let us know how she does.

[Fed]

This is still off-topic, but it is an important point that needs to be cleared out.
Depending on what type of cancer it was, you may still be able to donate if the cancer has been removed or eradicated and treated. Even if you received chemotherapy or radiation, if the cancer is gone, you can donate blood one year after completing treatment. If you didn't need chemotherapy or radiation, then you may be able to donate after you've recovered from surgery.

This boils down to jonwil's post: it's all about the theoretical risk that cancer can be passed through the blood. Although, from a scientist's standpoint, I don't buy entirely into the theoretical risk for a number of reasons, it is important for institutions like the Red Cross to safeguard against the risk of being the "transfer point" for tainted blood products (the acquisition of HIV through blood transfusions back in the 80s comes to mind). I may not agree with testicular cancer being a red flag for blood donation, but I understand the concern.

[Karen]

Back on topic.....Jen, thanks for posting this, and I hope all who are able can get into the national bone marrow registry. I joined in 1994 and have never been a match:( Please keep us posted on Kelli.

[Paul54]

I still think it's interesting that US survivors can donate blood but not marrow. There must be checks of donated blood, regardless of what the donor admits on the questionnaire. Here is the Red Cross's blood donation info:
Cancer
Eligibility depends on the type of cancer and treatment history. If you had leukemia or lymphoma, including Hodgkin’s Disease and other cancers of the blood, you are not eligible to donate. Other types of cancer are acceptable if the cancer has been treated successfully and it has been more than 12 months since treatment was completed and there has been no cancer recurrence in this time. Lower risk in-situ cancers including squamous or basal cell cancers of the skin that have been completely removed do not require a 12 month waiting period.