Glossary



Apheresis

A procedure where blood is continually drawn from a donor's arm and circulated through a machine that removes the requested cells, such as blood-forming cells or white blood cells, while the rest of the blood is returned to the donor through their other arm.

Blood-forming cells (also called blood stem cells)

Cells found in the bone marrow and blood that can grow into a red blood cell, a white blood cell or a platelet.

Bone marrow

A spongy tissue inside of large bones where the body's blood-forming cells are made.

Bone marrow transplant (BMT)

A medical treatment to replace a patient's damaged bone marrow with healthy PBSC or marrow.

Filgrastim

Filgrastim is also known as rhG-CSF(granulocyte-colony stimulating factor) or by the trade name Neupogen®. It is given by injection to donors who have agreed to donate PBSC. Filgrastim stimulates the bone marrow to make more blood-forming cells and moves them from the marrow into the bloodstream so that they can be collected by apheresis.

Hematopoietic stem cells

Blood forming stem cells capable of producing all the components of blood and marrow. Cells capable of both self-renewal and differentiation to white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

Investigational New Drug Application (IND)

A study regulated by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to demonstrate that a product is safe and effective for its intended use.

Infectious disease testing

Tests performed on a sample of the donor's blood to determine whether their PBSC or marrow could transmit disease to the patient.

Marrow donation

A surgical procedure by which a person donates some of their liquid marrow from the posterior illiac crest for a patient who has diseased marrow and needs a bone marrow transplant. The donor's marrow typically replaces itself within a few weeks.

National Marrow Donor Program®

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is dedicated to ensuring all patients who need a transplant receive access to this potentially life-saving treatment. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the nonprofit organization:

  • Manages the NMDP Registry®
  • Facilitates transplants worldwide
  • Conducts research
  • Provides education and support to patients, donors and health care professionals

The U.S. government has entrusted the NMDP to operate the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program and serve as a single point of access to potential donors for a global network of hospitals, blood centers, public cord blood banks, laboratories and recruitment centers.

Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC)

Peripheral blood circulates through the bloodstream in the body. Some blood-forming cells are found in the peripheral blood.

Peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation

Blood-forming cells are collected from a donor's circulating blood through an apheresis procedure following five days of filgrastim injections. The cells are then transplanted into a recipient.

Registry

The NMDP Registry® is a confidential national database of potential volunteer marrow donors established and maintained by the NMDP.