Bone Marrow Harvesting

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is it? Bone marrow harvesting is a procedure to take out some tissue from the inside of the hipbone. The bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside bones. Inside the bone marrow are stem cells. Stem cells make the different types of blood cells, such as red and white blood cells and platelets. Bone marrow harvesting is a step in the process of doing a bone marrow transplant. A bone marrow transplant may be used to treat diseases such as cancer. Or other diseases like aplastic (a-pla-stik) anemia (uh-nee-mee-uh), or immune (im-yoon) deficiency diseases.

How does it work? Bone marrow can be harvested (taken) from one of three different people. You may be able to have your own bone marrow harvested. This is called an autologous (aw-tall-uh-gus) harvest. Or, another person can donate (give) some of their bone marrow cells. It is called a syngeneic (sin-juh-ney-ik) harvest if the donor is an identical twin brother or sister. If the person donating is another family member or a stranger it is called an allogeneic (ah-lo-juh-ney-ik) harvest.

• The bone marrow harvest is done in the operating room of the hospital. You are given anesthesia to keep you comfortable during the procedure. No incisions (cuts) or stitches are needed. About 1-2 quarts of bone marrow and blood are taken. Several needle punctures are needed to get this much bone marrow. The 1 to 2 quarts of blood and bone marrow is only a small part of the bone marrow in your whole body. Your body replaces it in about 4 weeks.
  
  
• After the bone marrow is harvested it is cleaned to remove bits of fat and bone. It may also be cleaned to remove any problem cells. The bone marrow may be treated with radiation (ra-d-a-shun) This is the use of x-rays or gamma rays to treat cancer. The bone marrow may also be treated with chemotherapy (kee-mo-thair-uh-p). This works by killing new tumor cells. The bone marrow may then be frozen to use later. Or, it may be taken directly to the person who is going to receive it.

How can I donate bone marrow?

• You may be asked by a friend or family member to have your bone marrow tested. This test would tell you if your bone marrow can be used by someone you know. Or, you may decide to volunteer to donate to the national bone marrow donor bank. Then your bone marrow can be used for anyone who needs it. People from the National Marrow Donor Program will help to decide if your bone marrow can be donated. You may help save another person's life by donating your bone marrow.
  
  
• You can find out more about donating bone marrow by writing to the:

• National Marrow Donor Program
  3001 Broadway Street NE, Suite 500
  Minneapolis, MN 55413-1753
  Phone: 1-800-627-7692
  Web Address: http://www.marrow.org
  

Support: Having bone marrow harvested can be very stressful. You and those close to you may feel scared, angry or sad. These feelings are normal. Talk to your caregivers, family, or friends about your feelings and let them help you. You may also want to contact one of these organizations for more information and support.

• American Cancer Society
  Phone: 1-800-227-2345
  Web Address: http://www.cancer.org
  

• Blood and Marrow Transplant Information Network, BMT InfoNet
  2900 Skokie Valley Road, Suite 104
  Highland Park, IL 60035
  Phone: 1-888-597-7674
  Web Address: http://www.Bmtnews.org
  

• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Inc.
  1311 Mamaroneck Avenue
  White Plains, NY 10605
  Phone: 1-914-949-5213
  Phone: 1-800-955-4572
  Web Address: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org
  

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

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