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Home > Services > Blood & Bone Marrow
Each year more than 30,000 adults and children in the United States are diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases, such as leukemia. For many patients, a bone marrow or stem cell transplant is needed to survive. Time is running out.
A transplant is possible only when the patient and donor have matching tissue types. While nearly 30 percent of patients in need will find a matched donor within their immediate family, the other 70 percent must seek the help of friends or strangers – people like you.
By donating bone marrow, you could save the life of someone in need. There is no cost to be a donor, and you’re not turned away for lack of funding. Testing is offered at your convenience.
Since 1998, more than 10,000 Vermonters have joined the registry. Over 50 have been called for more testing, and over 40 have become donors. Our goal is to continue linking donors with patients, giving those needing a bone marrow transplant a second chance at life.
Want to join the Be The Match® Marrow Registry but can't make it to a drive? Online drives are always available.
You can also operate a marrow donor drive in your community. Complete our Request for a Drive form [PDF] today for more information.
The Rutland Regional Marrow Donor Program conducts bone marrow testing to add potential donors to the national Be The Match Registry®. Adding new donors gives hope to thousands of patients who need to go outside of their family for a life-saving donor.
Join the national marrow registry online and complete the consent form. You’ll soon be sent a swab kit by mail with instructions on taking a test to identify your tissue type and returning the kit by mail.
During the process, you’ll be asked for a promo code – the Rutland code is RRMC. This ensures your testing is billed to our program and not to you.
Add your name to the national marrow registry and potentially connect with a patient in need.
At Rutland Regional Medical Center, we work with affiliate programs to hold testing drives each year. To join the national marrow registry, attend one of these drives, visit the registry online or call 802.747.8667 to make arrangements to be tested.
Eligible donors must be between the ages 18 and 40 and be in good general health. There are some health reasons that preclude a potential donor from consideration. A partial list is below, but please call to check with us if you have questions.
If you have any of the following conditions, you will not be considered for the Rutland Regional Marrow Donor Program:
You’ll receive a health screening, consent form and information about the procedure by mail after you attend a drive or reach out to us to be a donor.
After you’ve read the information and completed the consent form, call to schedule a time to be tested with a cheek swab. This procedure takes approximately 10 minutes. You’ll then be placed in the Be The Match® Registry.
There is no cost to be a donor. The cost for tissue testing that places you in the registry is covered by Rutland Regional’s programs.
If you are selected as a donor, the National Marrow Donor Program pays all other costs. These include one person to accompany you and expenses for a hotel, meals, gas, child care, pet care and any other costs associated with being a volunteer donor.
After making the decision to become a marrow donor, you’ll be assigned one of two methods to donate. The recipient’s doctor will determine which is best – Apheresis Machine or Marrow Extraction.
This is the most common procedure, which collects immature stem cells from the donor’s blood, much like when you give blood. You’ll receive an injection four to five days prior to the donation. The injection stimulates your stem cells to reproduce at a higher rate.
On the fifth day, blood is removed from your arm using a sterile needle. The blood is entered into a machine that separates the immature stem cells, and your blood is returned to you in your other arm. The whole process takes approximately four hours.
Side effects of this procedure include aches—similar to having the flu—up until the day of donation. Once your donation is complete, the soreness often goes away. You may experience some lingering fatigue for a few days afterward.
This procedure extracts the liquid marrow from inside the back of the donor’s pelvic bone by a needle. There will be no incision or stitches from which to recover, but you may choose either general or local anesthesia. Plan on spending the night at the hospital if your donation is done via extraction.
Side effects include soreness in your lower back; however, past donors have said that moving the body after donation helps alleviate this pain. Because there are no incisions, most donors are back to their usual routine in a few days.
Contact us today:
Kerry Ellis: 802.747.8667Linda McKenna: 802.747.1831Jennifer St. Peter: 401.714.6240
