stem cell donation after kidney donation

[sherri]

Has anyone donated stem cells (bone marrow) after kidney donation?

thanks,
Sherri

[Fr Pat]

I was signed up as a potential marrow donor before my kidney donation, but have since passed the age limit. I'm really not sure what the current policy is. I know that in the past there was concern that the drug administered to the bone marrow donor in the days before the procedure (to stimulate extra cell production) might be too strong for one kidney to handle in the filtering-out process. I don't know if this question has been decided by now. www.marrow.org might be a good place to investigate.
    Fr. Pat

[sherri]

Fr. Pat,

I have not seen any literature to suggest that there is a contraindication using filgrastim (neupogen) with someone with a solitary kidney. That is what I am interested in finding out. If you have access to any articles, would appreciate it. If someone is concerned, bone marrow harvest is available and this does not require the use of filgrastim. Depending on the diagnosis a decision to use bone marrow harvest or peripheral stem cells is made. At our institution we almost always use peripheral stem cells. For a bone marrow harvest, the doctor goes in to extract the bone marrow through the pelvic bone. this is an outpatient surgery that is done under general anesthesia and no filgrastim is used to mobilize the stem cells. The stem cell donor would have to undergo all the tests to see if they are healthy enough to donate so of course, blood pressure, BUN and creatinine would be looked at, EKG  just to make sure they are healthy. We always request from donors not to use NSAIDs since it may increase bleeding, but Tylenol is ok, so that is fine for donors.

I received an email from one of the nurse coordinators in kidney transplant at my hospital asking if a kidney donor can register with NMDP. There is no harm in registering and then if she is a match she would undergo the pre transplant testing like any other donor. I updated my health information with NMDP after donating and was not made ineligible at the time.

My husband is actually scheduled to donate a second time on April 20. He matched someone in the registry in 2008 but the patient passed away, he matched again to someone in 2011 and donated and again matched now. He is 56. At our hospital we do not test donors over the age of 65 in general. It is harder to obtain stem cells in older donors.

Sherri

[DanGrant]

Bone marrow is considered a type of Stem Cell Treatment, since the bone marrow is found inside bones. It contains blood cells and stem cells whose major function is to create new blood cells and fight infection, making it very difficult for individuals requiring a bone marrow transplant find donors that can provide suitable bone marrow. (Source: PlacidWay)
Sherri,
If you feel up to it, do it. There is no contraindication even if you had donated a kidney. But please see a doctor and take all necessary tests to be sure you are not having issues.
 

[sherri]

Dan,
Thanks for the information. I have been in the NMDP registry. I currently work as a transplant coordinator for stem cell transplant. One of the renal transplant coordinators was looking for evidence based literature about stem cell donation after kidney donation. The key issue that LKD would be concerned about was the effect of neupogen on solitary kidney. I did recommend for the donor to join the registry and as every donor does should they be called that they matched, would go through a full history. thanks,

Sherri

[Michael]

Sherri, I submitted a question to Be the Match about whether there were any issues for a living kidney donor to be a marrow donor. Here is the response I received:

***
Below is information about whether or not an individual with one kidney could join the registry as a potential donor. More information about the basic medical guidelines as it related to joining the registry can be found on our website here: https://bethematch.org/support-the-cause/donate-bone-marrow/join-the-marrow-registry/medical-guidelines/
 
You cannot register if you have serious or chronic kidney problems such as polycystic kidney disease or glomerulonephritis. If you have had a kidney removed due to disease, you cannot register. However, if you donated a kidney to another person and are now fully recovered from that surgery, you are able to register. You are able to register if you have a history of kidney stones.
 
If a registry member is identified as a possible match for a patient, we would carefully evaluate their health status at that time as well to ensure both the safety of the donor and of the recipient. We would want to be sure the member has full kidney function in the one kidney.
 
We hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please contact us by email again or call us at 1-612-627-5806 or toll-free at 1 (800) 627-7692.  We are available by phone Monday – Friday between 8 am and 6 pm Central Time.
 
Thank you for your time and continued support!
 
Sincerely,
Marnie
 
 
Marnie Crawford
Email Management Specialist, Public Response, Member Services
500 N 5th St. Minneapolis, MN 55401-1206
 

[sherri]

Thank you, Michael. I also submitted the question to Gift of Life.