A difficult search
A patient can only be helped with stem cells from a donor who has the same tissue type. This is one of the greatest obstacles in stem cell transplantation. There are tens of thousands of possible white blood cell tissue type combinations. This means that the chance of finding an identical donor is very small. In the past, only patients who had a brother or sister with the same tissue type could benefit from a transplantation. There is only a one in four chance for siblings to carry the same tissue type because the tissue type is inherited from both parents. Nowadays, families have fewer children, so there is even less of a chance of finding a suitable family donor.
International donor bank increases the chances of finding a suitable donor
There are organisations all over the world that help give a chance to patients who have no family donor available. These organisations motivated millions of volunteers, who are prepared to donate their stem cells when a patient with the same tissue type needs a transplant. They make databases of voluntary unrelated donors available. Currently, more than ten million voluntary donors are listed worldwide. The Belgian donor database lists approximately 50,000 donors and some 6,000 units of umbilical cord blood.
The search for the life-saving transplantation can begin…
When a stem cell transplant is indicated for a patient, that patient’s tissue type is determined. A request is then sent to the Belgian bone marrow donor registry to begin a search. In the first instance, the registry identifies donors with an identical tissue type to the patient. This is done by consulting the various Belgian and international donor databases and umbilical cord blood banks.
Once the transplant centre has identified a compatible donor, the registry coordinates the administrative “flow” or “work-up” (voluntary stem cell donor or a unit of umbilical cord blood) right through to the final transplant.
Coordination takes place in accordance with Belgian and international legislation and international standards. The registry is also responsible for quality control, insuring the donor and maintaining contacts with the Belgian centres and registries in other countries.