waiting for a donor
If after assessment it is agreed that you will come to Ward 3 for a transplant, it is important for the team to find your child the right donor. Choosing the right donor depends on your child’s medical needs and matching options, with the goal of achieving the best outcome for recovery and health.
Parents and siblings will be tested to see if they are a match, this may be during, or before, assessment.
For children undergoing a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, there are a few main donor options, each with benefits based on the child’s specific needs:
Allogeneic Transplant (using cells from another person)
An allogeneic transplant uses stem cells from another person, ideally a close tissue match to the child, options include:
Related Donor: Often a sibling, who has roughly a 25% chance of being a perfect match.
Haplo Donor: Often a parent, matching about half of the child’s tissue markers, now more viable due to advances in treatment.
Unrelated Donor: Found through registries such as Anthony Nolan, offering a close match if no family member matches.
Cord Blood Transplant
Cord blood, collected at birth, from a related or unrelated donor. This is an option for younger children but is rarely used as engraftment takes longer.
Useful links:
Anthony Nolan stem cell database
Visit Anthony Nolan-
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Read more: Ivy’s Dad donates cells for a Haplo transplant.