Today, the stem cell transplant process is the most effective method of treating cancer, hereditary, hematological, autoimmune diseases in both adults and children. This article will be devoted to this article.
Hematopoietic stem cells and their transplantation
Many do not connect concepts such as stem cells and bone marrow transplantation, but they are closely interrelated. After all, this method of donation is a transplant. They multiply rapidly and produce healthy offspring. Hematopoietic cells are the precursors of blood, as well as human immunity. Stem cells transplanted to a patient restore blood formation in the body, increase resistance to viruses. There is no other way to obtain these cells, in addition to becoming a bone marrow donor. The source may be different tissues of the human body.
Where are these cells located?
We have stem cells in the hematopoietic substance, which is in the bones. Most of all, it is observed in the pelvic, breast bones, and spine. Over time, hematopoietic stem cells formed only in the bone marrow. For this reason, most foreign registers have the same name. They are called bone marrow donors.
In the 90s, it was scientifically proven that, thanks to the introduction of special drugs into the human body, stem cells can be removed for a short time from the place of their formation into the blood stream, and they can be removed from it using special equipment.
What else should I look for before becoming a bone marrow donor? In Samara, more than a decade ago, a cord blood bank was created on the basis of the Clinical Center for Cellular Technologies. They learned how to get stem cells in a different way.
Where to find a donor?
Unfortunately, in Russia such programs are in their infancy. There is no full register and state support. Measures to create this transplant base are gradually beginning to be introduced. Every year there are more and more donors. To increase the number of volunteers, it is important to inform the population, conduct training seminars and lectures.
When trouble happened in the family, and relatives want to help the patient, soon the question arises of how to become a bone marrow donor. After all, it is precisely him who needs to be transplanted to a loved one. But not always family ties can help in this matter, since only about 30% of relatives have full compatibility of stem cells. The ideal option is a bone marrow transplant from a twin, but these are isolated cases.
If there is no compatibility among close people, then it is necessary to resort to the help of the bone marrow donor database of our country. But their number is negligible. Therefore, the next step to finding donors is to turn 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 hematopoietic cells. This is due to the spread of diseases that can only be cured in this way. Currently, there are about sixty bases that are combined into a common world. The total number of possible donors is approximately 20,000,000. Thanks to such international registries, it is possible to find a suitable option for 60-80% of sick patients. And how to become a bone marrow donor and a member of a worldwide base, we learn a little lower.
Creation of a register of donors of hematopoietic bone marrow cells in Russia
In Russia, work has already begun on the creation of stem cell registers. 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 for the effective selection of cells for all patients in need of help. Therefore, we definitely need to ask ourselves how to become a bone marrow donor. In Yekaterinburg, this method of donation is not. But such services are in other cities. A small registry of donors in Chelyabinsk was created on the basis of a blood transfusion station in the region. Potential patients are voluntarily and anonymously included in this list of data subject to their free participation in the absence of any health contraindications.
Bone marrow donor requirements
Any healthy person can become a potential donor. Suitable age is 18-55 years old. 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 recently a bone marrow donation campaign was held among city residents. The research results were anonymously listed, the so-called registry.
A volunteer donates twenty milliliters of blood to any transfusion station. Blood fluid from a vein will undergo tissue typing. This is done in St. Petersburg, after these procedures all donor data will be entered into the Russian registry.
Donation in Nizhny Novgorod
Every year in Russia, more than 1,500 people need a stem cell transplant, most of them children. This can help patients restore blood formation and the immune system. Due to the minimum number of hematopoietic cell donors in our country, the opportunity to help these children is minimal, especially since the genotype of each person is individual, and the probability of choosing a suitable donor is 1: 30,000. Therefore, Russian doctors use the foreign registry of donors, but perhaps this problem will be resolved soon.
Various actions are held throughout 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 harvested?
For transplantation at a bone marrow donor, he is hospitalized for a day. This procedure necessarily takes place under general anesthesia. Before becoming a bone marrow donor, you must undergo a medical examination for tolerance to anesthesia.
The 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 harvested. 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 painkillers. Complete bone marrow recovery will occur in a two-week period.
Taking stem cells from the blood
The procedure under consideration is almost painless. This is important for anyone interested in becoming a bone marrow donor. In Moscow, there are many who want to join the ranks of volunteers for money. But this procedure is free.
Within five days before collection, the patient is injected subcutaneously with a medication that removes cells into the bloodstream. Then it is connected to a special apparatus with which blood is taken. Subsequently, the material is split into components. The latter are delivered to the laboratory, where they are processed in a special way. Useful cells are collected in a bag, and the rest of the blood is returned to the donor. This procedure lasts several hours.
Refusal of procedure
Entering the data into the register does not oblige anyone, since becoming a bone marrow donor in Russia or in another country is just a desire and consent to donate hematopoietic cells and save a life. The probability of compatibility of a particular donor with a patient is disastrously small. But the more Russian donors are presented in the bone marrow registry, the higher the likelihood of cure in our patients. After all, residents of the Russian Federation are genetically significantly different, for example, from Europeans and Americans.
Becoming someone who donates his bone marrow or not is everyone’s personal affair, but it’s important to understand that no one is immune from disease, and an indifferent attitude to the problem of donation can be a tragedy for all of humanity in the future.