Your donation - Preparation and procedures

You're ready to move forward and donate! You will be giving a patient the greatest gift of all: a second chance at life.

There are two methods of donation: peripheral blood stem cell donation (PBSC), and bone marrow donation.

As a donor, you should be willing to donate by either method. Whether the cells are removed from your bloodstream or bone marrow is decided by the patient’s physician, based on what is best for the patient.

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Peripheral blood stem cell collection

The most common method of stem cell removal is peripheral stem cell collection, which is used in around 80 percent of cases. Here, stem cells are obtained from the blood by a special procedure called apheresis.

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Bone Marrow Donation Guide: Everything You Need to Know

Welcome to DKMS, where every potential donor plays a vital role in saving lives through bone marrow donation. Here, we provide answers to all your key questions about the bone marrow donation process.

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Transportation of stem cells

Once the stem cells have been removed, speed is of the essence, and they must reach the patient within 72 hours. They are delivered in person by courier – a highly important and responsible task. Thanks to thousands of supporters around the world, cross-border stem cell donations are also possible.

You could be somones second chance at life.

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Potential second donations

In rare cases, we may ask you to donate stem cells a second time.

Peripheral stem cell collection by a man

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T-Cell donation

On rare occasions, we may ask a donor to donate lymphocytes as well, to prevent or treat a relapse in the patient.

There are many ways to get involved and support our mission.

You could be raising awareness, join the registry, hosting your own event, taking on a fundraising challenge, or anything in between.

Host a donor drive

The patients we help

People with smartphones about to register as a donor

Make a gift

Hand holding a phone with a red background and white text reading, "Just one swab can give hope to thoughts of patients."

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