Register to be a donor?  call 1 800 MARROW2
A sample of your blood will be taken and typed. You will then be notified if a patient with the same HLA blood type has a need. 

In a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (PBSCT), the donor  will receive medicine (Neupogen - G-CSF) a few days before collecting the stem cells. This forces the stem cells from the bone marrow into the general circulation. 

A catheter is placed (or an IV lines are placed into veins in each arm) and the donor's blood is "sucked out." The stems cells are removed and the blood is returned to the donor in a process called apheresis.

How long does it take? Typically it takes 1 day to collect the necessary number of stem cells from a healthy donor, unless the donor is of advanced age. 

If enough stem cells are captured, a bone marrow transplant will be done. If enough stem cells cannot be obtained from the peripheral circulation, the surgical bone marrow method can be used.

How are the stem cells mobilized? Usually following treatment with chemotherapy the patient will receive a growth factor medicine, such as G-CSF, a few days before collecting the stem cells. 

This forces the stem cells from the bone marrow into the general circulation (mobilization). 

A catheter is placed (or an IV lines are placed into veins in each arm) and the donor's blood is "sucked out." The stems cells are removed and the blood is returned to the donor in a process called apheresis.

How long does it take?  Typically it takes 3 to 5 days to collect the necessary number of stem cells - about  5 million CD34 expressing cells - per killogram of the patient's weight -  is the goal, but as few as 2 million cells have been used successfully in stem cell transplants.

Collection of stem cells from the patient is typically done in preparation for a stem cell transplant. 

This procedure can also be done following successful treatment (when few malignant cells are present) and the collected cells can be stored for future use when needed.