Healthy Bone Marrow Donations

To qualify as a healthy donor, you must:

•  Be in good general health (no history of diabetes, asthma, heart disease or chronic medical problems)
• Not use any prescription drugs (birth control is OK)
• Weigh less than 225 lbs
• Not be pregnant
• Be 18 years of age or older

Your bone marrow will be used strictly for research. These research results will not be of direct benefit to you; however, the results may provide important benefit to others. You will not receive any test results. Only your age and gender are kept with your donation, not your name or any other identifying information. Your bone marrow will be used for research purposes at the University of Pennsylvania, and may also be used for research purposes by collaborators at academic and for-profit institutions. Types of research include human blood development, stem cell biology and hematologic malignancies. 

Bone marrow aspirations remove a small amount of fluid and cells from the bone marrow. The bone marrow aspiration is performed in the following manner by a Certified Nurse Practitioner:

The skin over the back of your hipbone will be cleaned and a sterile drape will be placed around the cleaned area of skin. The Nurse Practitioner will then inject numbing medication called lidocaine (an anesthetic similar to Novocain) into the skin and around the bone lying underneath the skin. The injection may cause mild discomfort like a bee sting that will rapidly go away. Once the area is completely numb, a needle will be introduced into the hip bone to withdraw 20 and 30 mL (about 4-6 teaspoons) of bone marrow into a syringe. This aspect of the procedure is likely to cause mild to moderate discomfort or pain. The entire procedure will take approximately 30 minutes. You may resume normal activities (walking, returning to work, or physical activities) immediately after the procedure. There are no restrictions on your activity (you may drive, exercise, etc.).

There may be mild side effects such as bleeding or bruising around the site of needle insertion. Despite sterile precautions, there is a slight risk of a local skin infection at the puncture site. Other very rare side effects include temporary nerve damage or irritation.

Please email scxc@pennmedicine.upenn.edu . Be sure to include your first and last name and a daytime phone number at which you can be reached.

The procedure will take place in the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine on Penn’s Campus. Appointments are typically scheduled for 6:45 am on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Our next donation day will be in June.