MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE
C. W. BILL YOUNG/DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
MARROW DONOR CENTER
1. What is the C.W. Bill Young/DoD Marrow Donor Center?
The C.W. Bill Young/DoD Marrow Donor Center is one of 79 donor centers in the United States working with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). The C.W. Bill Young/DoD Marrow Donor Center was established to recruit volunteer marrow donors from active duty military, their immediate family members, civil service employees, Coast Guard, National Guard and Reservists.
2. Why are you targeting the military?
The military is the nation's largest source of whole blood donations and military personnel more so than any other large organization meet our strict health and age requirements.
3. What is involved in donating stem cells from marrow or peripheral blood?
The first step is having either one small tube of blood drawn from your arm or an oral swab sample taken. You are required to fill out a Department of Defense (DoD) consent form. The blood or oral swab is tested to determine your Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) type. That coded information (no names or social security numbers are used for identification purposes) is placed on the national registry of the NMDP in Minneapolis, MN, where it will remain until your sixty-first (61st) birthday.
You will be contacted if you
are found to be a preliminary match for a specific patient in need
of a marrow transplant and asked if you would consent to having more
blood drawn for compatibility testing. If
you do agree, the C.W. Bill Young/DoD Marrow Donor Center staff will
make all arrangements for the testing. This process usually takes
between 3-12 weeks (there are exceptions however). If the test
results indicate you are an acceptable match, you will be asked to consider
donating marrow or peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) for the patient. This
stage involves having an extensive educational session to explain the
entire marrow/PBSC donation process to you and a complete physical examination
to ensure your good health.
The actual donation is performed at either Georgetown University Hospital
in Washington, D.C., the University of Maryland Greenbaum Medical Center
in Baltimore, Maryland, or at Fairfax Pathology Associates in Fairfax,
VA.
Click to see the National Marrow Donor Program's
"ABC's
of Marrow or Blood Cell Donation"
4. ALL of these tests and procedures sound very expensive. Who pays for all of this?
All costs for complete HLA typing is paid for from Department of Defense funds. If a volunteer donor has the opportunity to provide a lifesaving match, all testing, medical fees, as well as any travel expenses, are paid for by the receiving patient.