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People usually volunteer to donate stem cells for an allogeneic (allo) transplant either because they have a loved one or friend who needs a match or because they want to help others. Some people give their stem cells so they can get them back later for an autologous (auto) transplant.
Learn more about donating stem cells for another person or for your own transplant, how to volunteer as a donor, and how to donate your baby’s cord blood.
If you want to see if you can donate stem cells to a specific person, speak with that person’s care team. If you want to join a volunteer donor registry to possibly donate to someone you don’t know in the future, contact NMDP.
NMDP
Toll-free number: 1-800-MARROW-2
Website: https://my.nmdp.org/s/join
Medical guidelines are in place to protect the health of possible donors, as well as the health of the person getting the stem cell or bone marrow transplant (the recipient).
As a potential donor, you will:
HLA testing costs are usually covered by the donor registry or by the stem cell recipient’s medical insurance.
Allo stem cell donors don’t have to pay for harvesting or stem cell donation because the recipient’s insurance company usually covers the cost. Still, be sure to ask about insurance coverage before you decide to harvest your bone marrow or donate stem cells.
If you join a volunteer donor registry, the registry will most likely keep your tissue type on file until you reach age 61, unless you ask to be removed sooner. The registry will contact you if you are a potential match for a recipient, but you are under no obligation to donate.
For more information about donor eligibility guidelines, contact NMDP or the donor center in your area.
If you are pregnant and want to donate your baby’s cord blood, it’s important to plan ahead. Make arrangements early in your pregnancy, at least before the third trimester.
Donation is safe and doesn’t affect the birth process. This is explained in more detail below, under How Stem Cells are Collected.
If you are a good match for someone who needs a transplant, the next steps are:
It’s important that you don’t feel pressured to donate. Donating your stem cells is always a choice.
Stem cells may be collected from these 3 different sources:
Each method of collection is explained below.
This process is often called bone marrow harvest. It’s a surgical procedure done in an operating room while you are under general anesthesia (medicines to put you into a deep sleep so you don’t feel pain).
The cells are taken from bone marrow found in the back of your pelvic (hip) bone.
If blood is taken from you before the marrow donation, it is often given back to you at this time.
After the bone marrow is harvested, you are taken to the recovery room while the anesthesia wears off. You might have a sore throat or nausea caused by the breathing tube and the anesthesia medications.
You might be taken to a hospital room and watched until you are fully alert and able to eat and drink. In most cases, bone marrow donors can leave the hospital within a few hours or by the next morning.
Most bone marrow donors get back to their usual activities in 2 to 3 days. But it could take 2 or 3 weeks before you feel completely back to normal.
Some rare complications of bone marrow harvest can include:
For this procedure, stem cells are taken from your blood.
Normally, you have very few stem cells in your blood, so for several days before starting the donation process you will be given a daily injection (shot) of hormone-like substances called growth factors (such as filgrastim or others).
These injections cause your bone marrow to make and release a lot of stem cells into your blood.
Growth factor medications can cause some side effects:
These side effects go away once the injections are finished and collection is completed. Over-the-counter pain medications or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may help with pain.
Let the collection team know if you have any other side effects.
After the shots, your blood is removed through an IV catheter (a thin, flexible plastic tube) put in a large vein in your arm, neck, or chest. The blood is then put through a machine that separates the stem cells from the other blood cells.
The stem cells are kept while the rest of the blood is returned to you, often through the same catheter. (In some cases, a catheter is put in each arm — one takes blood out and the other puts it back.)
This process is called apheresis. It takes about 2 to 4 hours and is done as an outpatient procedure. Sometimes, the process needs to be repeated for an additional day to collect enough stem cells.
Side effects can happen because of the catheter or the apheresis procedure, including:
Low calcium levels can happen because of the anticoagulant drug used to keep the blood from clotting in the machine. This can cause:
These side effects go away after the donation is complete, but you may be given calcium supplements to treat them.
Cord blood is the blood left in the placenta and umbilical cord after a baby is born. Collecting cord blood doesn’t pose any health risk to the baby or the mother. Cord blood transplants use blood that would otherwise be thrown away.
Some parents choose to donate their baby’s cord blood to a public blood bank at no cost, so that it can be used by anyone who needs it. Many hospitals collect cord blood for donation, which makes it easier for parents to donate.
Other parents choose to save and store cord blood in case the child or a close relative needs it someday. This is often done if there is a family history of diseases that may benefit from stem cell transplant.
If you save cord blood for your own family use, you will be charged a collection fee and annual storage fees.
If you choose to donate your baby’s cord blood, you will need to arrange it before the baby is born.
For more about donating your newborn’s cord blood, call 1-800-MARROW-2 or visit the NMDP website.
There are several private companies that will save and store your newborn’s cord blood for your own family use. But there are a few things to keep in mind:
More information on private family cord blood banking can be found at the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation.
If you donate cells for your own transplant (auto stem cell donation), this will be done by bone marrow harvest or by collecting peripheral stem cells from your blood.
For the most part, the collection process is the same, except that you are both the donor and the recipient. Your stem cells will be collected for your own use.
In some situations, the process is a little different:
A bone marrow donation is a life-saving procedure that can help people with cancer or other types of blood disorders. But there are some situations in which a person can’t be a donor.
A person usually can’t be a donor if they are:
Or if they have:
Some of these factors (like being pregnant or having certain health conditions) may make you ineligible as a donor. But for other factors, you might still be able to donate after the donor center reviews your health conditions.
Donor centers carefully review each possible donor’s health before approving them for donation.
Yes. People who have survived certain types of cancer can donate stem cells or bone marrow.
Developed by the American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team with medical review and contribution by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. Accessed at cancer.net. Content is no longer available.
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). What is a stem cell transplant (bone marrow transplant)? Accessed at cancer.net. Content is no longer available.
National Cancer Institute (NCI). Stem cell transplants cancer treatment. 2023. Accessed at https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/stem-cell-transplant on March 13, 2025.
National Marrow Donor Program. Blood stem cell donation medical guidelines. 2025. Accessed at https://www.nmdp.org/get-involved/join-the-registry/donate-pbsc/donor-requirements-faqs on March 12, 2025.
Sieff CA. Overview of hematopoietic stem cells. UpToDate. 2024 Accessed at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-hematopoietic-stem-cells on February 25, 2025.
Last Revised: July 10, 2025
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy.
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