Stem cells are harvested from umbilical cord blood, bone marrow, or peripheral blood. Frozen umbilical cord blood is obtained from a registry, and stem cells come directly from donor bone marrow or peripheral blood.

Bone marrow

Collecting bone marrow stem cells from a family member or unrelated donor is a straightforward process that usually takes less than an hour. While the donor is under general anesthesia, doctors insert large needles into the bones of the hip and withdraw bone marrow. This procedure is repeated 50 to 150 times to collect enough stem cells. After marrow donation, some hospitals keep the donor overnight, while others discharge the same day if the donor is not in significant pain.

After no match was found for Christie in the 4,000 donors that we signed up and typed, I became her donor. We were just a partial match. Being her donor was just wonderful. It was Mother’s Day weekend, and I was just full of faith and love. I thought this is it; God has given me a second chance to give life to this child. I had a very powerful feeling that it was so special that I could do this for my daughter. I really felt that this was it, it was going to work. It was uncomfortable for a couple of days, and I was a little bruised. But the people there were wonderful, and they really followed me closely. I’m still on the registry; if someone called me tomorrow, I’d be on a plane.

The bone marrow that is collected is usually used immediately, but it can be frozen for later use.

Apheresis

To collect stem cells from a donor’s blood, the donor self-administers granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF) injections for several days prior to collection day. GCSF stimulates the bone marrow to produce more stem cells. Those stems cells are released by the bone marrow into the peripheral blood. Peripheral blood is collected from an IV line and the cells are processed through a machine that separates stem cells from other blood cells. The stem cells are then collected and processed for donation. Other cells, such as red blood cells, are then infused back into the donor.