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Gift of Life Marrow Registry

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Gift of Life Marrow Registry
Company typeNon-profit
IndustryHealth care
FoundedBoca Raton,Florida,USA(1991)
HeadquartersBoca Raton,USA
Key people
Jay Feinberg,Founder & CEO
Stephen Siegel,Chairman
William Begal,Chairman Emeritus
Websitewww.giftoflife.org

TheGift of Life Marrow Registryis anon-profitorganization founded in 1991 and headquartered inBoca Raton, Floridathat operates a public blood stem cell and bone marrow registry while facilitating transplants for children and adults battling life-threatening illnesses, includingleukemia,lymphoma,other cancers and genetic diseases.[1]

The registry contains over 470,000 potential donors, and has found more than 31,000 donor matches and facilitated over 5,000 transplants since its inception.[2]

History[edit]

Gift of Life was founded following a successful bone marrow registration campaign to save the life ofJay Feinberg,a 22-year-old analyst with theFederal Reserve.[3][4]

Feinberg was diagnosed with leukemia in 1991. Since tissue type is inherited, like eye or hair color, a patient's best chance of finding a genetic match lies with those of similar ethnic background. For Feinberg, those were donors of Eastern European Jewish descent. After four years of searching for, a match was found with a 16 year-old girl from Illinois, saving Feinberg's life.[5]

At that time, the worldwide registry was not representative of all ethnic groups. Feinberg felt an urgent need to add diversity to the registry, creating the Gift of Life Marrow Registry.[6]

Background[edit]

Only 30 percent of patients with diseases treatable with a blood stem cell/bone marrow transplant can find a suitable donor among their family members. The remaining 70 percent must rely on the generosity of an unrelated donor to save their lives. There are more than 90 stem cell and marrow donor registries in 56 countries.[7]

Gift of Life was the first registry in the world tohuman leukocyte antigentissue typestem cell and marrow donors on a mass scale at donor drives usingbuccal swabs.

Collection[edit]

Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC):[8]It is possible to collect stem cells from the peripheral blood rather than the bone marrow. In order to collect a sufficient quantity of stem cells, injections of a medication calledfilgrastimmust be administered. This mobilizes stem cells to travel from the bone marrow into the circulating blood. The stem cells are collected through a procedure calledapheresis,the same process used to collect several other types of blood components. A cell separating machine filters out the stem cells, which can then be infused into the recipient. Today, PBSC is requested approximately 90 percent of the time.

Bone Marrow:[9]Marrow is found in the hollow cavities of the body's large bones. Donation involves withdrawing 2-3 percent of the donor's total marrow from the iliac crest of the hip, posterior aspect of the donor's pelvic bone. There is no cutting or stitching. The procedure involves a needle aspiration, performed using an anesthetic. Typically, the donor enters a medical center’s outpatient facility in the morning and goes home in the afternoon. Today, bone marrow is requested approximately 10 percent of the time.

There are clinical reasons why one cellular source may be more beneficial for the patient over the other. The transplant physician requests one source based on the patient's circumstances. If a donor declines to donate via one method, the transplant center may or may not be able to accept the other, based on the clinical needs of the patient.

Gift of Life – NMDP Collection Center[edit]

In April 2019, Gift of Life opened the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Gift of Life - NMDP Collection Center in collaboration with NMDP at its Florida headquarters.[10]The Collection Center primarily collects blood stem cells from donors for transplant into a patient. The stem cells are taken by a courier to the patient’s transplant center.[citation needed]

Center for Cell and Gene Therapy[edit]

Gift of Life opened a Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at its Boca Raton location in November 2020.[11]The facility houses a Cellular Therapy Laboratory and BioBank. High complexity testing (hematology and flow cytometry), processing (Sepax 2) and cryopreservation are performed at this location.[12]

Other United States Registries[edit]

The National Marrow Donor Program(NMDP) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1986 and based in Minneapolis,[13]that operates a registry of volunteer donors and cord blood units. In May 2004, the Gift of Life Marrow Registry and NMDP formed an associate donor registry relationship together.[citation needed]

DKMS,a German bone marrow registry, also operates a large U.S. bone marrow registry.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Financials".www.giftoflife.org.Retrieved2019-11-20.
  2. ^"Home page - Gift of Life Marrow Registry".www.giftoflife.org.Retrieved28 March2024.
  3. ^"Cancer battle spurs entrepreneur to start donor registry".Reuters.2011-07-13.Retrieved2019-11-20.
  4. ^Stone, Judy."What You Need To Know On World Bone Marrow Day".Forbes.Retrieved2019-11-20.
  5. ^"Cancer battle spurs entrepreneur to start donor registry".Reuters.2011-07-13.Retrieved2021-12-18.
  6. ^Goldman, Ari L. (1991-12-16)."Day of Hope for Those Dying of Leukemia".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2023-02-24.
  7. ^"WMDA Organisation data (Public Access)".share.wmda.info.World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA).Retrieved2024-03-29.
  8. ^"Donation Frequently Asked Questions".bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov.Retrieved2016-06-26.
  9. ^"Donation Frequently Asked Questions".bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov.Retrieved2016-06-26.
  10. ^"StackPath".www.hpnonline.com.22 April 2019.RetrievedJuly 17,2020.
  11. ^"Gift of life marrow registry announces new center for cell and gene therapy – the Boca Raton Tribune – Stem Cell Clinic".www.stemcellclinic.net.22 November 2020.RetrievedNovember 26,2020.
  12. ^"Cell Therapy".
  13. ^Confer, D.; Robinett, P. (August 2008)."The US National Marrow Donor Program role in unrelated donor hematopoietic cell transplantation".Bone Marrow Transplantation.42(1): S3–S5.doi:10.1038/bmt.2008.102.ISSN1476-5365.PMID18724295.
  14. ^"Together, we delete blood cancer".www.dkms.org.Retrieved2023-02-24.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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