What are the risks for donors and how is bone marrow collected?

Soe risk?but many: We want to assure donor safety, but no medical procedure is risk-free. The majority (more than 98.5%) of donors from the be the match registry feel completely recovered within a few weeks. A small percentage (1.34%) of donors experience a serious complication due to anesthesia or damage to bone, nerve or muscle in their hip region.The risk of side effects of anesthesia is well known.

Infection and pain: This is a relatively safe procedure but the marrow is harvested by taking a small amount from your hip bone. You lie on your stomach, the skin' muscle overlying the hip bone is anesthetized and cleaned. A needle is then inserted into the bone and gently rotated until it is deep enough to get to the marrow. A small amount is drawn out and the needle is removed. It is an outpatient procedure.