To inform the public, the Biomedicine Agency is launching the 2nd national mobilization week for bone marrow donation, from October 5 to 11, 2007, to enlist more donors for patients.
The objectives of this week:
- Explain why patients need more people to register today on the National Register of Voluntary Bone Marrow Donors, as our citizens are not well-informed about this subject and do not fully grasp the importance of this gesture.
- Enhance educational efforts on bone marrow donation: what is the donor’s journey? Where to find information to register? Is bone marrow collection painful?
- Remind that registering on the Voluntary Bone Marrow Donor Register effectively increases the chances for a patient to find the right donor. The Agency aims to increase the number of new donors by 100,000: the National Register has exceeded the threshold of 150,000 registered volunteers! A real message of hope for patients.
The misconceptions about bone marrow
- It is easy to find a compatible donor and patient.
False! Compatibility between two people is very rare: there is about a one in a million chance for two people to be compatible.
- Bone marrow is harvested from the spine.
False! It is not spinal cord collection from the spine but rather bone marrow from the flat bones of the pelvis.
To become a voluntary bone marrow donor, you must meet 3 conditions:
- Be in good health,
- Be over 18 and under 50 years old at registration, even though you can donate until the age of 60,
- Agree to answer a medical interview and undergo a blood test.
An information and awareness stand will also be held this Wednesday, October 10, in the Carrefour Lingostière shopping gallery, with various associations explaining their cause to the public:
Association “France ADOT 06”
(Association for the Donation of Organs and Human Tissues)
Irène Allione Tel: 04 93 83 64 89
Association “Laurette Fugain”
Gilles Dupont Tel: 06 70 94 28 30
Association “Ensemble avec Benoît”
Françoise Clot Tel: 06 11 83 48 68
Association “Leucémie Espoir 06”
Michel Anthoine Tel: 04 83 50 39 52
More information at: www.biomedecine.fr
