In the bone marrow, the cells of the blood and the immune system are manufactured, that is why the marrow donation is, in many cases, the hope against leukemia. Stem cells, also known as hematopoietic progenitors, nest in this area of the body, capable of producing all blood cells: white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. In this way, a bone marrow transplant allows the cure of certain diseases derived from the abnormal production of certain cells derived from stem cells by replacing these defective cells with normal ones from a healthy patient, but can everyone be a donor? of marrow?
No, as explained by the José Carreras Foundation Against Leukemia , the donation of hematopoietic progenitors is formally contraindicated in people with certain diseases. Among them are cardiovascular, lung, liver or hematological diseases, some risk factor for AIDS, malignant tumor diseases or diabetes mellitus among others, although the list is much longer. In addition, temporarily, pregnant women and those who are under anticoagulant treatments cannot be donors.
In addition to not suffering from any of these diseases or physical problems, donors must be fully compatible , so that when the donor cells reach the recipient patient, the latter’s body does not reject them, but being so similar, they can live together to the rest of his life. This rejection can be of two types: rejection of the transplanted cells by the recipient or rejection of the recipient by the transplanted cells in what is known as graft versus host disease .
The compatibility between relatives is the most common and, even so, it is very complicated. For this reason, the Josep Carreras Foundation against Leukemia emphasizes the importance of “compatible unrelated voluntary donors” , that is, anonymous volunteers willing to donate bone marrow to cure leukemia patients.
