Your file can indeed be transferred from the registry where you were already registered to Marrow Donor Program Belgium - Registry. This can be done very easily by requesting your donor file from the registry in your country of origin and sending it to us by e-mail (MDPB-registry@rodekruis.be). This way, we can simply transfer your file and your tissue type will not have to be redefined.
Have you lost the contact details of your home registry? Don't worry, you can easily find them via this database.
It is best to deregister when you permanently move abroad. You do this by reporting your move to your donor centre. They will then remove you from the stem cell donor registry. You can find the contact details of your donor centre here.
Would you like to remain a stem cell donor? Then be sure to check whether the country you are moving to has a stem cell registry via this database.
If yes, request your donor file from your donor centre and send it by e-mail to the registry abroad. That way, they can simply transfer your file without having to redetermine your tissue type and you will remain available as a stem cell donor in the global database.
No, you can simply remain registered as a candidate stem cell donor. You may always inform your donor centre about your temporary move, and they will note this in your file. You can find the contact details of your donor centre here.
Be sure to contact your donor centre for this. You can find your donor centre's contact details here.
It is essential to communicate these changes so that your donor centre can easily reach you if there is ever an interest in you as a stem cell donor in the (distant) future.
No problem! All your details are gone over again and checked during your consultation with the doctor, before a blood sample is taken for your tissue typing. That way we can be sure we have all the correct data.
Yes, you can undo your registration as a stem cell donor at any time. Please contact your donor centre to do so. The contact details of your donor centre can be found here.
Send an e-mail to MDPB-registry@rodekruis.be with your name and date of birth and we will check it for you!
Contact your donor centre about this. They can put your donor file on hold or cancel your registration, depending on your medical situation. You can find the contact details of your donor centre here.
Patients with African, Turkish or mixed roots in need of stem cells find a stem cell donor match in the global database only in 2 out of 3 cases. This is partly due to a lack of stem cell donor registries in Africa. Patients from Western European backgrounds, on the other hand, find a match in more than 90% of cases. So to eliminate this disparity, we are committed to recruiting stem cell donors with African, Turkish and mixed roots. If more people with these roots become stem cell donors, we can help more patients.
We deliberately choose to do the tissue typing of candidate stem cell donors only via a blood sample because this typing can then be done more accurately than with a cotton swab. Another advantage to blood sampling is that it is preceded by a consultation with a donor centre doctor, which takes approximately 30 minutes. During this consultation, you fill out a medical questionnaire and the doctor goes over the stem cell donation process with you and you have the opportunity to ask questions about it. This way, you can make an informed decision and be well prepared for any future stem cell donation, which is less the case when you post a cotton swab with saliva.
Donating blood or plasma is completely separate from stem cell donation. The process for determining your tissue type is initiated only when you register as a candidate stem cell donor on our website.
If your tissue type was once determined for a brother, sister, parent or other family member, you are not automatically registered as a stem cell donor in the Belgian register. To do so, you must register via our website and have a new blood sample taken to determine your tissue type. This is because the typing performed for a family member is less extensive than the typing we perform to include you as a candidate stem cell donor in the Belgian registry of stem cell donors.
Haematologists prefer younger donors as they provide more stem cells and scientific studies have shown that stem cells from younger donors also tend to give better results in patients. Younger donors are therefore more often called up as donors. Hence the consensus not to register donors over 40. In addition, the younger you are when you register, the longer you remain registered as a donor. In any case, donors are always removed from the registry as soon as they turn 60.
We set this age limit because haematologists usually prefer younger donors as they provide more stem cells and scientific studies have shown that stem cells from younger donors also tend to give better results in patients. Younger donors are therefore more often called up as donors. Hence the consensus to remove donors from the registry as soon as they turn 60.
You cannot register with Marrow Donor Program Belgium - Registry for one specific patient or for a sick family member. When you register as a stem cell donor, you do so for all patients worldwide, i.e. in Belgium and abroad. This way, we give all patients the same chance of finding a suitable stem cell donor.
If you have a sick relative and would like to know if you are a match for this person, please contact the hospital treating your relative. They will organise the search for a suitable donor for the patient and, if they consider it likely that you will be a match, can take a blood sample to determine your tissue type.
If your sick relative is admitted abroad and the treating hospital would like to receive a blood sample from you, please contact the registry at MDPB-registry@rodekruis.be so that we can see concretely how we can help you in this regard.
Our apologies for this! The donor centre of your choice is probably very busy at the moment. Please do not hesitate to contact them via e-mail to check the status of your enrolment. You can find the email address of your donor centre here.
The ratio of your height to your weight determines whether you can become a stem cell donor. To calculate this ratio, Nadler's formula is used. Unfortunately, if the height-to-weight ratio according to Nadler's formula is not satisfactory, we cannot register you as a stem cell donor. This is to protect you, as the number of stem cells you produce also depends on your height and weight and we do not want to overload your body.
This depends on the medication/disease. The main medical conditions that are contraindications for stem cell donation are already questioned when you register via our website. If your answer to any of these questions is 'Yes', you unfortunately do not qualify as a stem cell donor. If your medical condition or medication does not appear in this questionnaire, please discuss it with the donor centre doctor at the time of sample collection to determine your tissue type. The doctor can then tell you whether or not you qualify as a stem cell donor.
Yes, a gastric bypass poses no problem. You can just register as a stem cell donor.
You may register as a stem cell donor. Only if you currently still have diabetes and are being treated for it with insulin syringes, you unfortunately do not qualify as a stem cell donor.
You may simply register as a stem cell donor if you are pregnant. Being pregnant does not affect the sample collection for determining your tissue type. However, you cannot donate stem cells if you are breastfeeding or if you are pregnant and this until six months after giving birth. If these six months have passed and you are still breastfeeding at that time, you must wait to donate until you stop breastfeeding.
No, you cannot donate stem cells while breastfeeding.
If you are interested in donating cord blood, you should discuss this with your gynaecologist. He or she will be able to tell you whether this is a possibility in the hospital where you will give birth.
This depends on when you last had sexual contact with another man. Is this more than four months ago? Then you are eligible to register as a stem cell donor. Why this deadline of 4 months? This is because the Superior Health Council's rules for donating blood, plasma and platelets also apply to stem cell donation. More information can be found here.
Yes, all consultations, medical examinations and tests are free of charge. In addition, your parking ticket will be reimbursed as well as your transport costs (ticket for public transport or kilometre allowance for transport by car/motorbike) and you will receive a free breakfast, lunch or dinner during the stem cell donation. You will not receive any financial or other compensation for the donation of your stem cells themselves.
Insurance is taken out for every donor with cover in case complications occur that are not among the expected side effects of the donation or for any physical harm resulting from the donation. You will be given more information about this when you are asked to donate stem cells.
Before the day of the medical examination as well as before the day of the donation itself and 1 to 7 days after the donation, you will receive a sick note from the collection centre (= the hospital where the collection and the medical examination will take place). So you do not have to take a holiday for this.
In Belgium, you are allowed to donate stem cells for only one unrelated patient. So after your first stem cell donation, you will be removed from the register. However, if the patient who received your stem cells relapses or if complications occur in this patient, you may be asked to donate stem cells or lymphocytes (= white blood cells that play an important role in your immune system and are produced in your bone marrow) a second time. If a request for a second stem cell donation is received by the registry, it is first reviewed by the registry's Medical Advisory Committee to check whether it is valid. Only when the Medical Advisory Committee gives its approval will you be informed. As with your first donation, you have the right to refuse the donation at any time.
Yes, this is no problem at all. Family donation is completely separate from donation for an unrelated patient.
Yes, you are completely free to decide how to donate stem cells. Donating stem cells can be done in two ways:
Donating stem cells via blood is by far the most commonly used method today, but which type of stem cells is requested depends on the patient's condition. If you do not like one of the two methods, you may always refuse this method, even if it is requested by the patient's treating doctor. There is a chance that the doctor will then choose another donor.
This depends on the type of donation. Donating stem cells via blood takes about 4 hours on average and is performed in one day in most cases. If not enough stem cells are collected during one collection, it is sometimes necessary to give the stem cell donor an additional injection of growth factor G-CSF. The rest of the required stem cells are then harvested the next day.
Stem cell donation via bone marrow involves a hospital stay of 36 to 48 hours as this donation is done under general anaesthesia. The procedure itself takes 1 to 2 hours. If everything goes smoothly, you will be allowed to leave hospital the day after the procedure.
For both donations, you get a sick note for the day of the donation as well as for 1 to 7 days after the donation. So you don't need to take a holiday for this.
As with any medical procedure, there are also risks associated with stem cell donation. We list them below, by type of donation:
