The procedure lasts about two hours and is virtually painless, Dr. Tutschka said. It is not invasive and requires no anesthesia. Looking to the future, Dr. Tutschka anticipates new advances to make bone marrow donation even easier for people. He is working on initiatives to improve matches between siblings. This would reduce the need for unrelated donors, he explained.
Bone marrow is a soft, fatty tissue found inside bones.
It produces red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells. It can be damaged or destroyed by diseases of the blood cells, like leukemia or anemia, or by cancer treatments, like chemotherapy or radiation. Donated bone marrow must match the patient's tissue type. There is a 25-percent chance that a sibling will have a match for a patient. Patients can also donate their own marrow.