幹細胞論壇

每個人一生中都有機會拯救至少一個人的生命,透過器官,血液,骨髓,甚至臍帶血的捐贈,可以拯救數萬人脫離嚴重的疾病,但是等待被捐贈的病人往往還是比捐贈者來的多很多

根據美國健康資源與服務管理局的統計,結至今年2月10日全球已有110324人等待器官的捐贈,比起十年前的59862人,增加80%需求量

為了正視捐贈者與受贈者的比例差距,美國衛生機構在2月14日的世界捐贈日(National Donor Day)上,宣導民眾以下四點:

1. 辦理器官捐贈卡,並於當地的州政府捐贈機構進行註冊

2. 參予國際捐贈單位發起的骨髓與周邊血捐贈

3. 了解如何捐贈新生兒的臍帶血

4. 自願捐血

其中臍帶血與骨髓的捐贈已有日益增加的趨勢,但是捐贈的數量不足以提供到每個人都有配對吻合的機會.臍帶血與骨髓的造血幹細胞首要運用在白血病,淋巴癌,再生不良性貧血與代謝異常等的嚴重疾病.根據聯邦政府的統計,2010年一整年就有5228病患接受造血幹細胞的移植,比起2009年的4820人有8%的成長率,每年移植的比率還會持續增加中

比起臍帶血與骨髓的捐贈,周邊血的捐贈人數是最能達到需求量,且往往還會超過所需要的量.周邊血與臍帶血都含有造血幹細胞,但是臍帶血的造血幹細胞數量更多,更年輕,分化和增生的能力更強,且不需完全配對吻合,就可進行移植.因此利用臍帶血幹細胞做治療的效果較好,醫療層面較廣.

國家造血幹細胞移植計畫的健康分析師Nawraz Shawir表示,因民眾為正視臍帶血幹細胞的重要性,往往在寶寶一出生時就錯失寶貴的臍帶血,而這也是政府須負責教育民眾的地方.

目前仍有70%的比率,當需要臍帶血幹細胞進行移植時,未能從親屬間獲得已儲存的臍帶血,而是須向公捐庫申請配對.如果我們正視臍帶血的重要性,越來越多的準父母為孩子儲存臍帶血,將來就可以提高利用自身或是親屬間的臍帶血進行移植的比率,省去等待配對的時間,提高疾病治癒的機會

   Need for Blood and Organ Donors Continues to Grow

FRIDAY, Feb. 11(HealthDay News) -- Every single adult in the United States is carrying around the raw materials to save at least one life, and possibly more than one.

But the need for most of these donations is growing, not shrinking.

As of Feb. 10, 110,324 people were on a national waiting list for an organ donation, up more than 80% from the 59,862 people on the list a decade before, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

"The gap is growing because more people are getting added to the waiting list than are donating," said Mary L. Ganikos, chief of the public and professional education branch at the agency's transplantation division.

Taking aim at the problem, health officials on Feb. 14 -- National Donor Day -- intend to urge people to:

• Fill out an organ and tissue donation card and register with their state registry for donors.
• Join the nationwide registry of volunteers willing to donate marrow and blood stem cells.
• Learn how to donate stems cells from umbilical cord blood after the birth of a baby.
• Donate blood.

Marrow and cord blood donations are growing in importance. The number of people being healed by blood stem cell transplants is increasing every year, but not enough people are registered to donate bone marrow or umbilical cord blood to provide an adequate chance for every person in need to find an appropriate genetic match, Ganikos said.

Stem cells from marrow and cord blood are primarily used to treat deadly diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia and autoimmune disorders. There were 5,228 blood stem cell transplants during fiscal year 2010, compared with 4,820 in 2009 and 2,310 in 2003, according to federal officials.

Currently, only whole blood donations adequately meet the needs of public health, officials report. In 2007, for instance, 15.6 million units of blood were donated, exceeding the 14.4 million units that were transfused that year, according to the National Blood Collection and Utilization Survey Report compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

To close the donation gap in other areas, though, public health officials face a number of obstacles, but the main problem seems to be a lack of widespread knowledge about the need for donations and the relative ease of signing up to be a donor.

This is particularly true of donations of umbilical cord blood, which is rich in stem cells, said Nawraz Shawir, a public health analyst with the government's Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Program.

"There is not enough awareness out there about the possibility of umbilical cord blood donation," Shawir said. "The cord blood usually is discarded, unless the woman is aware of the great potential of this blood to help other patients."

Another obstacle to increasing the donor ranks is the presence of an array of misconceptions about organ, blood and marrow donation.

Some people decline to become a potential marrow donor because they believe the donation process will be painful, involving a needle stuck into their bones.

Another misconception to be countered is the notion that hospital personnel would not do everything in their power to save the life of someone registered as an organ donor because they need the donations, said Teresa Beigay, director of special donation projects for the government's transplantation division.

"The donation does not kick in until every effort is made to save that life," she said. "Notification doesn't happen until after death."

Also, people sometimes mistakenly believe that they're too old to donate.

"Some people think when you're over 50, you can't be an organ donor," Ganikos said. "There have been donors in their 90s and recipients in their 80s. We don't want people to rule themselves out. They should register, and let doctors decide after their death if some or all of their organs are useful."

 http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=125843