Today, the process of stem cell transplantation is the most effective method of treating oncological, hereditary, hematological, autoimmune diseases in both adults and children. This article will be devoted to this issue.
Hematopoietic stem cells and their transplant
Many do not associate such concepts as stem cells and bone marrow transplantation, but they are closely interrelated. After all, this way of donating - and there is a transplant. They multiply rapidly and give healthy offspring. Hematopoietic cells are the precursors of blood, as well as human immunity. Transplanted to the patient stem cells restore the blood of the body, increase resistance to viruses. There is no other way to get these cells, besides, how to become a bone marrow donor. The source can be different tissues of the human body.
Where are these cells located?
We have stem cells in the blood-forming substance that is in the bones. Most of it is observed in the pelvic, thoracic bones, spine. For a long time, hematopoietic stem cells were formed only in the bone marrow. For this reason, most foreign registers have the same name. They are called bone marrow donors.
In the 1990s, it was scientifically proven that thanks to the introduction of special drugs into the human body, it is possible to extract stem cells from the place of their formation into the blood stream for a short time, and to extract them from them using special equipment.
What else should you pay attention to before becoming a bone marrow donor? In Samara, over a decade ago, a cord blood bank was established on the basis of the Clinical Center for Cellular Technologies. There they learned to receive stem cells in a different way.
Where can I find a donor?
To deep regret, in Russia such programs are in embryo. There is no full register and state support. Steps to create this base for transplantation are gradually being introduced. The number of donors is increasing every year. To increase the number of volunteers, it is important to inform the public, conduct training seminars and lectures.
When a family has a problem, and relatives want to help the patient, they soon face the question of how to become a bone marrow donor. After all, it is necessary to transplant it to a loved one. But not always family ties can help in this matter, since only about 30% of close people have full compatibility of stem cells. The ideal option is bone marrow transplantation from a twin, but these are isolated cases.
If there is no compatibility among close people, then it is necessary to resort to the database of bone marrow donor countries in our country. But their number is negligible. Therefore, the next step to finding donors is to appeal to foreign registers. But it is important to understand that this is a very expensive procedure, the cost of which is several tens of thousands of euros.
Many countries are actively working to expand unrelated donor lists of stem hemopoietic cells. This is due to the spread of diseases that can only be cured in this way. At present, there are about sixty bases, which are united in a common world. The total number of possible donors is approximately 20,000,000.Thanks to such international registers, it is possible to find a suitable option for 60-80% of patients. And how to become a donor of the bone marrow and a member of the world's database, we will find out just below.
Creation of the register of donors of hematopoietic bone marrow cells in Russia
The work on creation of stem cell registers has already begun in Russia. However, the total number of potential donors tested is small, there are about two thousand people. It is clear that such a quantity does not allow the effective selection of cells for all patients who need help. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves how to become a bone marrow donor. In Yekaterinburg this way is not donated. But there are such services in other cities. A small register of donors in Chelyabinsk was created on the basis of a blood transfusion station in the region. Potential patients are included voluntarily and anonymously in this list of data provided they participate free of charge in the absence of any contraindications to health.
Bone Marrow Donor Requirements
Any healthy person can become a potential donor. Suitable age is 18-55 years. He should not be sick with tuberculosis, AIDS, hepatitis B and C, malaria, cancer, mental disorders. This is the first step to becoming a bone marrow donor. In Voronezh, a recent campaign to donate bone marrow among the residents of the city. The results of the studies were anonymously recorded in the list, the so-called register.
Volunteer donates twenty milliliters of blood to any of the transfusion stations. The blood fluid from the vein will undergo tissue typing. This is done in St. Petersburg, after these procedures all donor data will be entered in the Russian registry.
Donation in Nizhny Novgorod
More than 1,500 people need stem cell transplants each year, most of them children. This can help patients recover hematopoiesis and the immune system. Due to the minimal number of donors of hematopoietic cells in our country, the opportunity to help these children is minimal, especially since the genotype of each person is individual, and the probability of finding a suitable donor is 1: 30,000.Therefore, Russian doctors use a foreign donor register, but, probably, this problem will soon be resolved.
Various actions are held around the country, during which people are explained how to become a bone marrow donor. In Nizhny Novgorod, such an action was very successful among students of the Linguistic University and the Academy of Water Transport. After the meeting, the donor register of the Russian Federation increased by dozens of people who agreed to undergo this procedure.
How is bone marrow collected?
For transplantation from a bone marrow donor, he is hospitalized in a hospital for a day. This procedure necessarily takes place under general anesthesia. Before you become a bone marrow donor, you need to undergo a medical examination for the tolerability of anesthesia.
Bone marrow is taken from the pelvic bones with special wide needles. The operation can last several hours. During the intervention, only a few percent of the bone marrow is collected. The donor is allowed to leave the clinic on the same day. Within a few days, there will be some soreness in the bones, which can be easily removed with anesthetic preparations. Full recovery of bone marrow will occur in a two-week period.
Taking stem cells from the blood
The procedure is practically painless. This is important for those who are interested in how to become a bone marrow donor. In Moscow, for money, there are many who wish to join the ranks of volunteers. But this procedure is free of charge.
For five days before sampling, the patient is injected subcutaneously with a drug that removes cells into the bloodstream. Then it is connected to a special device, with the help of which blood is taken. Subsequently, the material is split into components. The latter are delivered to the laboratory, where they are treated in a special way. Useful cells are collected in a package, and the rest of the blood is returned to the donor. This procedure lasts several hours.
Refusal of the procedure
Data entry into the register does not oblige, as becoming a bone marrow donor in Russia or in another country is just a desire and agreement to hand over hemopoietic cells and save lives. The probability of compatibility of a particular donor with a patient is catastrophically small. But the more Russian donors are represented in the bone marrow registry, the higher the likelihood of cure in our patients. After all, the inhabitants of the Russian Federation are genetically significantly different, for example, from Europeans and Americans.
To become one who donates his bone marrow or not is a private matter for everyone, but it is important to understand that no one is immune to disease, and an indifferent attitude to the problem of donation can become a tragedy for all mankind in the future.