The three general types are allogenic, syngeneic, and autologous. Allogenic BMT - The source of an allogenic BMT is typically from the sibling, unless there is no matched sibling in which case the marrow comes from the parent or an unrelated donor. We found the key for success was how closely the donor's marrow matched our daughter's marrow. The physicians focused on six markers called human leukocyte antigens located in our daughter's white blood cells to judge the match. We found the process typically will take six months in the event the donor is a third party.
Timing is critical.
Only three or four patients out of ten have a sibling or parent that matches their bone marrow. The odds for an unrelated donor range from 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 20,000. Since the cost of testing siblings, parents and related family are small, it is highly recommended to determine if they match early on in the treatment program. The NMPD generally estimates 120 days from the first request before bone marrow can be delivered. The goals of NMPD are honorable in attempting to expand the list of donors and thus improve the odds of finding matches, and to shorten the 120 day search time.