Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 5, 1993 TAG: 9312050066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Marrow Donor Center of the Virginias will operate as a division of the blood services arm of the regional American Red Cross in serving Western Virginia and West Virginia.
"The Red Cross is the real hero in this," said Walker, who enlisted the organization's support for establishing the center.
The center will work in tandem with the National Marrow Donor Program, a Minneapolis-based program that matches healthy donors with those in need of bone marrow transplants.
"There is a need for donors and it stands to reason the more you widen the donor pool, the more you are going to find a match for a patient," said Dr. Daniel Temeles, a Roanoke oncologist associated with the Cancer Center of Southwest Virginia.
"We try to maintain a very active cancer center as part of our taking part in many research protocol groups," said Temeles, one of a number of physicians and community activists who have worked to make the center a reality. "This is just an important arm for state-of-the-art care."
At the center, donors would be able to have their blood typed and statistics placed in the computers of the National Marrow Donor Program. Although there have been special bone marrow drives in Roanoke, it required calling in blood services personnel from Charlotte, N.C., the nearest bone marrow center.
To make the January start-up date, organizers are trying to raise $35,000 by Christmas to hire a full-time coordinator. Walker, a law student at Washington and Lee University, said about $11,000 already has been pledged.
"This person has to be a great community educator," said Walker. "They really are a facilitator. They need to go out and tell the story." He anticipates church and civic organizations responding with donor drives, particularly if there is a local individual in need of a marrow transplant.
Although there are about 1 million volunteers on the national registry, more are needed to increase the odds that a successful match will be found.
To participate, potential donors must be between 18 and 55 years old. A simple blood test is done first to determine the volunteer's Human Leukocyte Antigen tissue type. That type is entered in the registry through the local center.
Because typing is expensive, donors may have to pay a small fee for the blood test, although that has not been determined, said Walker. But once a match is found, the donor's expenses are paid through the recipient's insurance.
When patients with blood diseases need transplants, the computer is searched for a potential match. Many volunteers never are called, but, when a match is made, the donor is asked to come in for more tests and a complete physical check-up.
At that time, the donor also must consent to proceed through the entire process; otherwise, the recipient's life could be in danger. The marrow recipient then undergoes intense chemotherapy and radiation to destroy defective blood cells.
Typically, the donor is placed under general or spinal anesthesia and tiny incisions are made in the back. The doctor extracts the marrow - about 10 percent of the body's store - from those incisions. The process takes about an hour and the donor may experience some soreness for up to 10 days after the extraction. The donor's marrow replenishes itself in about two weeks.
"It is something that requires a fair amount of altruism," said Temeles, who has both harvested marrow and participated in bone marrow transplants. "I can vouch for how much altruism it requires."
Although he does not anticipate the Roanoke area becoming a bone marrow transplant center in the near future, he said the presence of the center will enhance the medical reputation of the region and give citizens something of which to be proud.
"I think it is good for the community," said Temeles. "I view Roanoke as a sophisticated medical community. It ought to be here."
Dr. Yen Hsueh, principal officer of the Appalachian Regional Blood Services of the American Red Cross, also believes the facility will enhance the region's reputation as a medical center.
"I think it is a natural fit to get involved," he said.
by CNB