How to Be a Stem Cell Donor

Stem cell therapy has the potential to help patients suffering from "Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal cord injury, burns, heart disease, diabetes and arthritis," according to the National Institutes of Health, although significant study is still needed on the topic. Embryos, umbilical cord blood and live donors provide the stem cells for such therapy. Embryonic stem cells are considered to be more versatile than adult stem cells. The embryonic stem cell is thought to be pluripotent, meaning it can develop into any type of cell in the body. Live donor stem cells are considered multipotent, able to develop into a specific type of cell.

Instructions

Live Donor Stem Cell Donation

• 1

  Join a registry, such as the National Marrow Donor Program's Be the Match Registry. During this process, you will need to confirm that you meet the basic requirements: age 18 to 60, good health, committed to helping a possible match and are not in the U.S. military.

• 2

  Set up your account by providing your personal information and answering a health questionnaire online.

• 3

  Order your registration kit. You may be required to pay a fee to obtain this kit and cover the testing fees. The kit will arrive by mail in a few days.

• 4

  Swab the inside of your cheek in accordance with the kit instructions and return the kit for testing.

• 5

  Agree to proceed if you are found to be a match. Additional medical testing may be required to determine if you are the best match. Depending on the patient's needs, you may be asked to donate either bone marrow (a surgical outpatient procedure) or peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC; a nonsurgical procedure).

Umbilical Cord Blood Donation

• 6

  Identify whether you want to donate to a private cord blood storage facility (in which the blood will be used for your child only) or to a public cord blood bank (to be used by anyone with need). Private blood banks charge fees to store the blood, but you retain ownership. With public banks, you relinquish ownership but the service is free.

• 7

  Arrange to obtain your child's umbilical cord blood upon his or her birth. Labor nurses will extract about 50 cubic centimeters of blood directly from the cord.

• 8

  Have the syringes shipped as directed to the facility you have chosen.

Embryonic Stem Cell Donation

• 9

  Determine the potential studies in which the embryo(s) will be used. Embryonic stem cell donation is appropriate only for individuals who have undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment that has resulted in more embryos than can be implanted. Such embryos are typically those that have been cryogenically stored.

• 10

  Identify the party who requires your consent. This might be your fertility specialist. However, granting consent to someone other than your fertility specialist or researcher is frequently recommended to avoid a potential conflict of interest between the need for research and your own health and well-being.

• 11

  Learn your rights regarding this donation. Ensure that you understand all potential risks.

• 12

  Grant your official, informed consent.