Bone Marrow Donation?

ErinShannon

I've always wanted to register to be on the bone marrow donation list but my weight has prevented me - I am now about 50lbs away from the upper end of what they will accept and that makes me happy. But I am wondering would having had the surgery made me an unacceptable candidate? It's something I am going to talk to my surgeon about this coming week but I was wondering in the meantime if anyone else knew?

minkakross

it should not prevent you from being a donor but they may want you to be a certain amount of time (months/years) post surgery similar to blood donations as they don't want to shock your body with a new trauma too soon. If your surgeon doesn't know you may be able to find out through the donor registration site.

ragslittle

I think Minka is right...just some time...I couldn't donate blood the other day because it was too soon (6 months) and they wanted proof that I was medically clear from my doctor.

grim_traveller

Hi everyone. This is my first post, and I'm glad I found this sub-group. My RNY was done on August 21, and I was able to resume platelet donations one month after surgery. The Red Cross here was only concerned about any antiobiotics or other meds I may have been on (none), and they always check vital signs and iron before each donation. Platelets are likely easier to donate than red cells or whole blood, since your body grows new platelets much faster. One of the things I like about platelet apheresis is I can donate a triple unit every two weeks.

I haven't registered for bone marrow. I was put off when they told me I would have to pay the cost for being tested myself.