EXPERIENCE WITH 22 BONE-MARROW DONORS

We describe our experience of the Institute Nacional de Cancerologia i n Mexico City in the managament of 22 healthy donors of the allogeneic bone marrow transplantation program. Twenty three bone marrow product s were harvested from the 22 healthy donors (7 male, 15 female) with a median age of 26 (range 16 to 47). All were seronegative for HIV, HBV and HCV. The volume harvested ranged from 750 to 1500 mL. The postope rative hemoglobin dropped more than 3 g/dL in 14 donors but only seven required the transfusion of autologous blood collected before the pro cedure. All donors received a standard analgesic regimen with meperide ne, dextropropoxiphene and ketoprofen for 24 hours after the harvest. Only two instances of procedure complications were recorded (9%) and w ere successfully resolved. Currently ail donors are alive and in good health with a median follow up of two years. We conclude that bone mar row donation is a safe procedure with some predictable complications, the most common, anemia, easily corrected with autologous blood transf usion.