Each region of France currently lacks around 1,500 bone marrow donors.
Currently, the country has around 328,000, according to the National Biomedicine Agency.
An insufficient number because of the necessary genetic compatibility between the donor and the recipient.
Launched on March 22, a campaign still in progress therefore targets the objective of 20,000 new donors for 2021.
Read also: Looking for young volunteers for bone marrow donation
Between January and July, 11,000 people signed up to the nationwide donor registry.
A figure that has more than doubled in two months.
The bone marrow is where our white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets are produced.
His donation thus makes it possible to cure people with blood diseases, such as leukemia.
Be between 18 and 35 years old and be in good health
To donate your bone marrow, you must be registered in a dedicated volunteer registry.
Unlike organ donation, we are not automatically donors.
It is possible to register from 18 to 35 years old, but once registered, donation remains possible until the age of 60.
“
We changed these rules to meet the needs of patients.
Indeed, in consultation with them, we realized that the most sought-after grafts are those from young donors, and 80% in the world come from people under 35-40 years old, because they are richer in cells and better meet needs,
”explains Dr Catherine Faucher, Deputy Director of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Collection and Transplantation at the National Biomedicine Agency.
Read also: Bone marrow donation: "If I'm here today, it's because someone allowed me to live"
To register, you must be in perfect health: the future donor answers a questionnaire and a saliva sample is taken for an HLA compatibility check - for Human Leucocyte Antigene, genetic profile specific to each individual - essential before any donation.
Often, men are privileged because, in women, "
all pregnancies
cause
the production of HLA antibodies with which there can be complications after the donation
", specifies Dr Faucher.
Proportionally, there are 2/3 women for 1/3 men out of a total of around 328,000 donors.
Under what conditions does a donation take place
Once the preliminary steps have been validated, all you have to do is go to the hospital to make your donation, using two methods of your choice. One of them is direct bone marrow sampling (pelvic puncture) and the other is cytapheresis (blood collection of cells): “
For four days, once a day, we inject a factor of growth of the bone marrow in such a way as to release the cells into the blood,
”explains Catherine Foucher. It is not possible to donate your bone marrow if you are taking treatment for a disease (stroke, cancer, etc.), due to the possible interaction with other drugs.
80% of donations are made through a blood sample, according to the National Biomedicine Agency. “
For four hours, the donor is connected to a machine that draws his blood. This machine sorts the cells that interest us, and then we return the blood to his body. It looks a bit like donating blood,
”says Dr Foucher about the course of operations.
From the moment the doctor indicates a bone marrow transplant, a donor is sought.
First, in the family of the recipient, "
but it is compatible once in four
".
In the event of failure, the search is extended to national, European and then global registers.
On average, the needs of a thousand patients are covered each year, explains Catherine Foucher.
World Bone Marrow Donor Day will take place on September 18.
More information on:
dondemoelleosseuse.fr