To enrol as a bone marrow donor you can • Visit our website at www.welshblood.org.uk and register today • Complete the form and hand it in at your next blood or platelet donor session • Select the tick box on the Donor Health Check to request for your bone marrow samples to be taken when you next give blood • Complete the form and post it to our Freepost address (shown on the leaflet) • Call 0800 371502 • Speak to a member of staff about joining the Registry when you next donate whole blood or platelets To join we will ask you for a small sample of blood at the same time as your next donation. This sample will be tested to determine your tissue type to enable the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry to search your record as a potential match. Once on the registry you will remain until your 60th birthday unless you request to be removed. What is my commitment if I join? When you join the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry, you make a commitment to: • Consider becoming a bone marrow donor to any matching patient. • Let us know if your address and contact details change • Update us of any significant health changes • Let us know if you change your mind about being a donor • Be listed on the registry until your 60th birthday Please make sure you understand what to expect when you join the Welsh Bone Marrow Registry and that you are comfortable with your decision. You can change your mind at any time; you are under no obligation to give further blood samples even if you are found to be a possible match to a patient. However if you are found to be a match and agree to become a donor, once the patient has started their pre-transplant treatment (about 10 days before the transplant), they MUST have a transplant to survive and Joining the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry is your first step to saving a life! Thousands of patients across the world with life threatening illnesses such as cancer depend on the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry and other registries like ours to find a match to save their life. Every week we receive hundreds of requests to search our Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry for potential bone marrow donors. Patients need donors who have a tissue type that is a close match. Finding a match is extremely difficult, with thousands of unsuccessful searches being carried out daily. We need more bone marrow donors, as the more volunteers on the Registry, the higher the chance of finding the match! We need donors from all backgrounds as the likelihood of finding a match is greater if the ethnic background of the donor is the same as the patient. What is a bone marrow transplant? A bone marrow transplant is a life-saving treatment for people with life threatening diseases such as cancer. Treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation can sometimes completely destroy the bone marrow. Without healthy bone marrow patients can suffer from anaemia, bleeding and infections and unless they receive a life saving bone marrow transplant they can become seriously ill or even die. A bone marrow donor’s healthy bone marrow is given directly into the patient’s bloodstream, where it can begin to function and multiply. For a patient’s body to accept these healthy cells, the patient needs a donor who is a close match. How do I become a bone marrow donor? The first step to become a bone marrow donor is to join the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry. To join you must be: • An existing whole blood or platelet donor • From the age of 17 years and up until your 31st birthday • Be generally fit and healthy I would like to register on the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry Hoffwn gofrestru ar Gofrestrfa Rhoi Mêr Esgyrn Cymru I understand that this does not commit me to giving a blood sample for tissue typing or to donate bone marrow/ stem cells. Deallaf nad yw hyn yn fy ymrwymo i roi sampl gwaed ar gyfer teipio meinwe na roi mêr esgyrn/bôn-gelloedd. Full Name (Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Other) Enw Llawn (Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Arall) Address / Cyfeiriad: Post Code / Cod Post: Phone No / Rhif Ffôn: Home / Cartref: Work / Gwaith: Mobile / Symudol: Date of Birth / Dyddiad Geni: E-mail / E-bost: Are you a blood donor? Yes No Ydych chi’n rhoddwr gwaed? Ydw Nac ydw (Please delete as appropriate/Dileër fel y bo’n briodol) Donor Number (if known): Rhif Rhoddwr Gwaed (os yw’n hysbys): Place of usual blood donor session: Lleoliad y sesiwn rhoi gwaed arferol: Date of last blood donation: Dyddiad rhoi gwaed diwethaf: Please return this form only to: Dychwelwch y ffurflen hon yn unig i: Donor Recruitment Welsh Blood Service FREEPOST CF388 Pontylcun CF72 8ZZ www.welshblood.org.uk Adran Recriwtio Rhoddwyr Gwasanaeth Gwaed Cymru RHADBOST CF388 Pontyclun CF72 8ZZ www.gwaedcymru.org.uk finding another donor at such short notice would be very difficult. What are the procedures and are there any risks? Bone marrow donors are asked to donate in one of two ways: Bone marrow donation is a surgical procedure in which marrow is taken from the back of the pelvic bone using a needle and syringe. No surgical incision is required. As with any operation that requires a general anaesthetic there is a small but definite risk, donors have a thorough medical health check by an independent doctor to ensure they are fit and well for the procedure. Most donors feel tiredness and experience some discomfort in their lower back for a few days afterwards, this is usually eased with mild pain relief tablets. Donors are normally able to resume work within one week of their donation. Peripheral blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation is a nonsurgical procedure. For 4-5 days leading up to donation, you will be given daily injections of a stimulating factor to increase the number of stem cells in your bloodstream. The donor’s blood is then collected via automated collection (Apheresis) where the blood is removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the bone marrow cells. The remaining blood is returned to you through the other arm. PBSC donors may have flu like symptoms in the five days leading up to donation, these symptoms normally always disappear 1-2 days following donation and the donor is back to normal. As with any procedure the risks will be discussed with you prior to any procedure. Bone marrow and PBSC donation normally takes place in a Cardiff or Newport hospital. Bone marrow donation is voluntary and we are unable to give financial reward to bone marrow donors, however any expenses incurred by you e.g hotel bills or travel expenses will be reimbursed by the Welsh Blood Service. Do you have any more questions? If you have any more questions or would like to discuss any aspect of bone marrow / stem cell donation, please ask at your next whole blood or platelet session or contact the Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry on Freephone 0800 371502 Ail gyfle Ymunwch â Chofrestrfa Rhoi Mêr Esgyrn Cymru heddiw GGC Cyf: 008C Fersiwn 10 08/14 gwaedcymru.org.uk 0800 252266 WBS_Bone_Marrow_DLB_08_14.indd 1-5 02/09/2014 09:26