A young man born after 1995 waited for more than six years and successfully donated bone marrow. Does bone marrow donation require extraction of bone marrow?

Science Fiction Network, February 9 (Xu Mingyang) According to Lizhi News, on February 8, Zhou Yuanjian, a staff member of the Wujiang District Media Integration Center in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, successfully completed the collection of hematopoietic stem cell donations. In 2016, Zhou Yuanjian, who was still studying at Xiamen University, signed up to become a hematopoietic stem cell donation volunteer. After receiving the notification of successful matching last year, the whole family fully supported the donation. He said: "I am very excited to have the opportunity to save other people's lives."

(Photo source: Lizhi News)

Some people believe that donating bone marrow means extracting the spinal cord directly from the donor's spine and transplanting it. In fact, a more accurate term for bone marrow donation should be hematopoietic stem cell donation. It is understood that what is collected in bone marrow donation is not bone marrow, but hematopoietic stem cells. The term "bone marrow donation" is used because when medical technology was not very developed, bone marrow transplantation used hematopoietic stem cells obtained through bone marrow puncture. This method does make the donor feel very uncomfortable.

With continuous research, people have found that peripheral blood also contains a certain proportion of hematopoietic stem cells, and granulocyte colony stimulating factor can mobilize hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood. Therefore, before collecting blood for donors, medical staff will inject granulocyte colony stimulating factor into the patient to mobilize the hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow into the peripheral blood, and then separate the hematopoietic stem cells through a blood cell separator and transfuse them into the patient's body. This method will not make the donor too uncomfortable.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is an effective method for treating dozens of diseases such as leukemia and thalassemia. After donating hematopoietic stem cells, you should pay attention to personal hygiene, get more rest, and maintain a balanced diet. Generally speaking, the donor's hematopoietic stem cells will return to their original number within one or two weeks after donation.