Who Can Be an Organ or Bone Marrow Donor?
Mark Andolina MD, from the TriHealth Cancer Institute, answers a Local 12 viewer question on bone marrow donation and organ donations.
Bone Marrow: Who’s the Best Donor?
Typically, the sibling of the patient is the best donor. “We have a lot of diseases that are best treated by bone marrow transplantation, and the outcomes are generally better – in terms of overall survival and fewer complications – when we have the patient’s sibling be a donor,” Dr. Andolina explains.
However, even a sibling is only a match about 25 percent of the time. “It’s important to expand the pool of living bone marrow donors,” he stresses.
Organ Donations: What Makes a Good Candidate?
Those with certain medical conditions may not be suitable donors in certain cases. For example, someone with COPD, which is a chronic lung disorder, would not be an appropriate candidate for a lung transplant. Otherwise, everything from your skin to your eyes can be donated.
“There are long lists for all of these organs. Liver, heart and kidney are probably the three that are in the most demand, but there are a lot of other organs that we transplant, too,” Dr. Andolina points out.