Is there any harm in being a bone marrow transplant donor

Medical technology is developing very rapidly now. Bone marrow transplantation has become a relatively common treatment method and a way to treat many blood diseases. In particular, leukemia and some anemia diseases that are more familiar to people can be treated through bone marrow transplantation. However, many people now have many misunderstandings about bone marrow transplantation. Let's find out whether there are any harms to bone marrow transplant donors.

Are there any risks for bone marrow transplant donors?

1. Donating bone marrow will not affect a person's health. Many people think that donating bone marrow is the same as extracting spinal cord, which is a complete misunderstanding. Bone marrow transplantation requires red bone marrow in the human body - hematopoietic stem cells. The bone marrow of an adult weighs 3 kilograms. A donor can save the life of a leukemia patient by providing less than 10 grams of bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells. Therefore, its immune function and hematopoietic ability will not be weakened.

2. Bone marrow is a tissue with strong regenerative ability. Generally, a healthy person can replenish the amount of donated hematopoietic stem cells in about ten days. Therefore, donors can eat more high-protein, nutritious foods; get more rest and ensure adequate sleep; do some appropriate exercise, etc., all of which can help the body recover quickly.

3. Bone marrow transplantation is a relatively advanced treatment method. Various thorough examinations must be carried out before the operation, and it must be checked whether they are a match before the operation can be performed. Generally speaking, there is not much impact on the donor and the transplanted person after the operation, and they just need to take good care of themselves.

Is bone marrow extraction dangerous to the human body?

There are two methods to extract bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells:

1. The doctor punctures the donor's iliac bone to collect hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow. There will be some pain within one or two days after the operation, but full recovery will be achieved within a week.

Second, scientific methods are used to effectively mobilize hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow and other parts of the body and release them into the peripheral blood in large quantities. The blood is collected from the donor's arm vein, separated by a machine, and the remaining blood is returned to the donor's body. Donating stem cells is neither harmful to health nor dangerous.

Currently, the second method is used to collect bone marrow, which is also easily accepted by donors. The former method is mainly used for diagnostic examinations of patients.