Lately I witnessed a lot of fund raising and blood sample collections for people ill with cancer. The purpose is to find a compatible donor for bone marrow. I would like to know what is the process after you are found suitable to donate . Is the extraction painful ? Is it a long surgery?
I was late for work this morning, because I got stuck in Zeno's paradox.
I think that the actual procedure varies from country to country, but the basics are the same.
Before the actual donation there are a series of meetings to determine if the donor is healthy enough, and if they are a good enough match with the patient. This may take a few weeks, broken up into several meetings.
The actual procedure of bone marrow extraction is relatively simple, but it involves getting a general anasthetic. It takes a couple of days to fully recover, however your body replenishes the bone marrow in a very short time. You may have to return after a few months for a general checkup to make sure that you are fully recovered.
The procedure is rather simple, similar to donation of blood, only it takes longer. No anesthetic. A needle is inserted into a vein in your arm, blood is slowly removed into a special device where it circulates. The machine extracts certain cells and the blood is returned. It takes about two hours I believe, and you get a lot of attention, appreciation and love.
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this is the operational process: The marrow is removed through a hollow surgical needle inserted several times into the iliac crest (back of the pelvic bone). All donors receive either general or regional anesthesia. The typical donation procedure can last from 45-90 minutes. Since marrow constantly regenerates itself, the donor's system will replace the extracted marrow completely within several weeks.
and the recovering: Following the procedure, donors can expect to feel some soreness in the lower back for a few days or longer. Some donors have also reported feeling fatigued and having some difficulty walking.
the info was taken from: http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/
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