New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry (NZBMDR)
The New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry which is administered and operated by the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation, lists more than 7,800 people who are willing to donate their bone marrow (or stem cells) to patients world-wide The NZBMDR is also part of a worldwide network of volunteer registries, which contains over 11.5 million unrelated donors.
Each year, many patients are diagnosed with leukaemia or other life-threatening blood disorders. Bone marrow (or stem cell) transplantation is the only possible treatment for many of these patients. The most suitable donor is a fully matched (tissue-typed) family member, but only 1 in 3 patients are lucky enough to find a family match so a search for an unrelated donor is often necessary.
Some tissue types can be linked to ethnic origin – people who share the same racial background are more likely to be compatible. In New Zealand, European patients have access to more than 8 million donors. However, patients of other ethnicities are less likely to have a donor available. For this reason, there is a real need for donors with Maori or Pacific Island ancestry and for donors from minor ethnic groups in New Zealand.
To become a donor you need to be between the ages of 18 and 40 and in good health at the time of registration. You will be asked to donate a unit of blood (470 mls) and undergo screening tests for viruses or other infections. Your tissue type will then be entered into a national database and compared with patients needing a transplant. If you match with a patient you will be contacted for another blood sample to confirm the match and asked if you are still happy to donate.
Only 1 in 1000 donors will be asked to donate stem cells in any year and you will be retired from the registry on your 56th birthday. The NZBMDR will not normally contact you unless you are identified as a potential match for a patient, but it is important that you notify the NZBMDR of any change of address as it may be many years before you match a patient.
Deciding to donate stem cells is an important decision. It is possible to decline when contacted if you have reservations. However, once you’ve agreed to act as a donor it is vital to follow through with the process, because about a week before the actual donation, the patient’s own bone marrow is destroyed in preparation for the transplant. These treatments can be fatal unless the patient then receives healthy bone marrow, which is given to them in a similar way to a blood transfusion.
Your details are treated confidentially and are kept by the centre you donated at. Only your tissue type, age, ethnicity and sex – linked to an identifying code – are entered onto the registry, and this code is the only identifier released to the transplant centre. If you agree to donate, only appropriate medical details will be passed to the transplant team involved. Your personal details will not be divulged to anyone outside the registry without your written consent.
Interested in becoming a donor?
Contact the NZBMDR:
Telephone: 09 523 5756
Toll Free: 0800 800 256 (0800 800 BLOOD)
Fax: 09 523 5757
Email: nzbmdr@nzblood.co.nz
Postal Address: P O Box 74336, Market Rd, Auckland
