I became a potential bone marrow donor

What's a bone marrow donation and why register?

Bone marrow donation is done for the hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. It is the transplantation of stem cells in order to replicate inside a patient and produce additional normal blood cells. It is most often performed for patients with certain cancers of the blood or bone marrow.

Only 25% of patients find a match within the family, the rest 75% have to look for a genetic twin somewhere in the world and widespread registration in the database increases chances of recovery for those people.

How I found out about it?

I first heard about registering as a potential bone marrow donor in one of the YouTube vlogs, where the author quickly mentioned how she registered in the database and how easy it was. I got interested and went into research mode and decided to register back when I lived in Astana. I completed the questionnaire here and left my contact details.

A little later a friendly voice invited me to the Blood Center to get the tests done. I postponed it a few times because I was busy with work, chores and other excuses, then after another call I felt bad and told them I'll get back to them when I am ready, but I never actually did.

Now after moving to Warsaw, at my old workplace I got an invitation to the lecture about options for bone marrow donation in Poland. It sparked my interest again and I quickly found a website of DKMS foundation in Poland and it turns out you can easily register as the potential donor even if you are a foreigner here.

How I got registered?

I completed the questionnaire and ordered a registration pack in November 2024.

They mentioned that if I do not receive the pack in three weeks I should contact them, which I did in December 2024: apparently my address data did not contain the apartment number, which was quickly fixed, and I received my package in January 2025 together with the New Years card from our good friends living in France.

I followed easy instructions and sent back the DNA samples: it was so easy, just stick the prefilled address data and drop the envelop in the closest Poczta Polska mailbox!

A week later I received a confirmation that they have my envelop and it would take around three months to analyse my DNA and register me in the database.

In the beginning of February, I received an email confirming that I am now in the international potential bone marrow donors list, and in March I received a really cool red plastic card with my donor ID.

The potential downside of the process for the foreigners in Poland is that the guidance and information is provided only in Polish.

Any concerns about bone marrow donation?

Two main concerns expressed by the close ones:

Q: What if something goes wrong during the procedure (the nerve gets damaged, it will be very painful, etc.)?

A: There is a myth that they draw the bone marrow from your spine. In 90% of cases the bone marrow is drawn from your bloodstream and in the rest 10% it's done through the punctures of your pelvic bone under general anesthesia. You can read explanation here.

Q: What if this will affect your health afterwards?

A: Typical recovery period takes around a few weeks and the donation is generally considered safe. Read more about it here.

You can withdraw from the procedure at any moment.

What now?

As statistics show, within 10 years of registration, only 1% of registered people become an actual donor. Younger people have higher chance of being an eligible match.

I now wait for the message if there is a match somewhere until I am 61 years old. If I get a chance to help someone, I will make sure to share my experience with the world.