Information for Donors

To register onto the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry a small sample of blood is used to analyse your tissue type and to determine if you are a match to a patient in need.

	The first step is to meet our representative who will provide a brief information session.
	Following the information session, you will be asked to fill in a consent form and medical history questionnaire.
	A simple blood test is taken to determine your tissue typing. This is then analysed at the nearest Red Cross/ABMDR laboratory. Your information is securely stored until your 57th Birthday.
	If you are found to be matching, you will be notified and undergo a thorough medical examination. Another blood test - a lymphocyte culture test - will be done to determine compatibility. If you are not found matching at this stage your DNA details are stored on the ABMDR.

For bone marrow donations:	For peripheral blood stem cell donation:
A small amount of bone marrow is removed from the pelvic bone by needle puncture under a light general anaesthetic.	A series of small injections are given to stimulate your stem cells from your bone marrow to go into your circulating blood system. Blood from your arm is collected, the stem cells are sieved by a machine, the rest of your blood is given back to you at the same time.
Your bone marrow/stem cells donation is then transported to wherever in the world the patient is waiting for the transplant.

Bone marrow and stem cells regenerate in you in a very short-time. Bone marrow and stem cell transplants do save lives.

To join the Stem Cell [blood] & Bone Marrow Donor Registry to save a life you must be between 18 & 45 years of age and in good health.

You are ineligible io join the Stem Cell /Bone Marrow Donor Registy if you:

• Have been diagnosed with or treated for cancer (except skin or testicular cancer) in the past five years.
• Have ever been diagnosed with leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.
• Have a history of heart disease.
• Are a carrier of Hepatitis B.
• Are HIV positive or have AIDS or Hepatitis C.
• Are aware of anyone in your family who has or has EVER had Creutzfeldt Jacob Disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Straussler-Sheinker Syndrome (GSS) or Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI).
• Have received injections of human growth hormone for short stature or human pituitary hormone for infertility prior to 1986.
• Had a surgical procedure involving head, brain or spinal cord between 1972-1989.
• Have ever received a transplant or graft (organ, cornea, bone etc).
• Have lived in the UK for a cumulative period of six months or more between 1980 and 1996
• Have ever been an injecting drug user.
• Have had maie io maie sex in the past 12 months,
• Had sexual activity with a male who you think might be bisexual in the past 12 months.
• Have been a male or female sex worker in the past 12 months.
• Have engaged in sexual activity with a male or female sex worker in the past 12 months.
• Have been a sexual partner of an IV drug user or a bi-sexual male in the past 12 months.
• Have been injured with a used needle or received a blood/body fluid splash in the past 12 months.
• Had a tattoo within the past 12 months [though you can join the Registry now].
• Have been imprisoned in a prison or lock-up in the past 12 months.
• Have had a blood transfusion or have received blood products in the past 12 months.

If you are unsure about your eligibility to join the Bone Marrow Registry or need further information, please call shula 0414 780 444 or shula@giftoflifeaustralia.org.au, www.abmdr.org.au