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April
19, 2005
Today is Oncology Nursing Day, and the cancer nurses at the
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) are all
talking about the Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry.
The Canadian Association for Nurses in Oncology has designated
April 19, 2005, as the national Oncology Nursing Day, and
this year’s theme is “Speak Up and Be An Advocate.”
The oncology nurses decided that the most worthy organization
was the Canadian Blood Services and Unrelated Bone Marrow
Registry.
Each year, approximately only 30% of patients are able to
find a related bone marrow match; the remaining 70% of patients
requiring bone marrow transplants must hope for a match from
the Unrelated Bone Marrow Registry. This entails searching
for a match from an anonymous donor, with the likelihood of
matching found in particular race groups; for example, if
an Aboriginal patient requires a bone marrow transplant, it
is most likely that a match will be found from an Aboriginal
donor.
This presents a challenge to the Bone Marrow Registry; there
is an eligibility process, with criteria like the ages of
the donors (must be between 17 and 50) and they must go through
some physical testing to ensure that they are able to provide
bone marrow. Only after all of the requirements have been
met will they be added to the Registry as a potential donor.
Bone marrow is the soft, spongy material found inside the
bones. The bone marrow contains a network of blood vessels
and fibres surrounded by fat, white blood cells, red blood
cells, and platelets. The production of blood cells is the
chief function of the bone marrow. White blood cells mainly
protect the immune system, and help fight infection and other
diseases; red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to all
cells in the body, and transport carbon dioxide back to the
lungs to expel as waste; and platelets help prevent bleeding
by forming blood clots in an injury.
Bone marrow is predominantly used with lymphomas and leukaemia
in cancer treatments, and the oncology inpatient unit at TBRHSC
and the cancer centre see these patients all the time, with
the best course of treatment being a bone marrow transplant.
For further information on how to become a bone marrow donor,
please call 1-800-2-DONATE, or visit www.bloodservices.ca.
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