Final answer:
Bone marrow donation is critical for treating patients with life-threatening blood disorders by providing them with stem cells capable of producing healthy blood cells. Finding a compatible donor with a close HLA match is essential to prevent immune complications such as rejection or GVHD. In severe cases like leukemia, replacing damaged marrow with healthy donor cells is a lifesaving procedure.
Step-by-step explanation:
People donate bone marrow so that those in need can produce healthy blood cells. This process is crucial for individuals with conditions such as leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia, and thalassemia, where their existing bone marrow is diseased or damaged. A bone marrow transplant involves replacing the faulty bone marrow with healthy marrow from a donor, which contains stem cells that are capable of generating new, healthy blood cells. It is essential to find a matching donor, ideally one with a similar human leukocyte antigen (HLA) profile, to minimize the risk of the recipient's body rejecting the transplant or experiencing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), where the donated marrow's immune cells attack the recipient's body.
The severity of diseases like leukemia necessitates destructive treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation to eliminate diseased marrow before a transplantation can occur. If a sibling is not a suitable match, as in our case study where Kim's sister is not an HLA match, patients must seek matching donors from a registry. These donors are critical for patients who require a transplant because their bone marrow's ability to produce red blood cells, among other cells, is compromised. In the absence of sufficient red blood cells, the body cannot transport oxygen effectively, which can trigger the kidneys to release erythropoietin, a hormone that stimulates bone marrow to produce more red blood cells.