Your guide to stem cell donation
Getting ready to donate
Have you decided to donate stem cells? That’s fantastic! With your stem cell donation you can make a vital contribution to saving patients’ lives. Here is a step-by-step guide to how the donation process works – from preperation, medical check up to the actual donation.
Your donation
Find more info about the kinds of donations we offer in our Collection Center.
Your path
Want to donate blood stem cells? Find all info here to prepare for your donation.
Who Is Cellex?
Cellex does more than stem cell collections. Learn more about our full portfolio here.
That’s what our donors say about cellex
“Everyone was super friendly and helpful. I was also always informed about the technical process, the background of the machines, and the donation. That was very interesting for me as a donor.”
– Lukas, blood stem cell donor
The most important questions about the donation
In principle, you are free to reject one of the two donation types. Of course, we will try to fulfill your request for a preferred type of donation. However, it is possible that as a donor you will only be considered for one of the two donation types. Which method is preferred or even necessary for medical reasons usually depends on the situation of the recipient. In principle, it would be optimal if you were prepared for both types of donation.
On the day of the apheresis, you will arrive at our Collection Center (possibly with a companion) between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. After the greeting, you will first be called by the responsible nurse and then go to the apheresis room without your accompanying person. Only when all donors are connected to the apheresis devices may the accompanying persons join them. After 30 minutes, your escort has to leave the premises. There are several reasons for this, including safety issues and the comfort of other donors. Exceptions are generally not possible!
During the three to five hour extraction, you can watch a movie, listen to music, or read a book. Only one of your arms will be restricted in movement. You can also go to the toilet during collection. At the end of the pickup, you can inform your escort by telephone about the expected pickup time. The escort then waits for the last minutes in our waiting area.
After the donation, you should spend about 30 minutes with us to be on the safe side, so that we have the opportunity to answer and react to any questions that may arise, for example if your circulation is causing you problems. During this waiting period, you will receive an electronic medical questionnaire that you fill out and hand in to us. We will also give you the brochure with information on the contact between donor and recipient. In the afternoon, we will call you and inform you if a second donation is necessary the next day. If that’s not the case, you can go home.
The success of a stem cell transplantation depends strongly on the patient’s state of health. On average, the chances of recovery are between 40 and 70%.