Let's Break the Myths and Make a Match

The most effective cure against myths and fake newsis the dissemination of truthful information. We are responsible for disseminating, developing and sharing information of value to our audiences and sources of information. At Be The Match® Mexico we take it personally to continue debunking myths about donation, especially bone marrow and stem cell donation, since wrong assumptions in this regard slow down more processes than you might expect.

For two years now, the world has been affected by a feeling of helplessness that has left people at a loss as to how to help not only themselves but others. Now, imagine you have a not-so-common disease that, combined with over-flowing information about the pandemic and its innate rarity, has been left out of the spotlight. Fortunately, in this search for options to help, unique people are willing to save lives.

And indeed, that is what can be achieved with bone marrow and stem cell donation: to give someone the opportunity not only to live but also to fight for their dreams. However, the fact that this procedure is not outwardly visible is not its only obstacle because in the popular narrative, there are many myths and assumptions that stop people from helping those who need it most. For this reason, we tirelessly contribute to refuting the most common arguments against donating bone marrow and stem cells. I would like to clarify some of the most common.

At Be The Match® Mexico we face different myths and misconceptions mostly from people who don't know about the bone marrow donation procedure or even from the potential donor's parents. For example, have you ever heard that people with tattoos cannot be donors? Well, as part of International Tattoo Day on July 17, it is necessary to mention that one year after their last tattoo or piercing, those with tattoos can donate stem cells or bone marrow and save a life. Also, tattoos don’t matter when registering as potential donors because that is only the first step. You then must wait for the call that says you are a match for a patient. Now you are ready to donate.

Another area of confusion faced by potential donors is the difference between bone marrow and the spinal cord; the former is a spongy tissue inside some bones that house stem cells, which are responsible for blood formation; the spinal cord is exclusively for transmitting nerve impulses from the brain to the rest of the body and vice versa. As you can see, bone marrow and the spinal cord have two quite different functions, and the one that is extracted in the donation process is bone marrow, which regenerates completely in a matter of weeks.

A third common misconception we face is that bone marrow donation is a procedure that can affect the donor's backbone. This is not true. Seventy-seven percent of bone marrow donations are completed through a process that is like ordinary blood donation, with a peripheral blood extraction that does not require hospitalization, so donors do not stay longer than a day in the hospital. In the other 23 percent of procedures, a small puncture is made on the back of the iliac bone. This puncture does not require sutures or stitches. It is an outpatient surgical procedure performed in a hospital's operating room where anesthesia is administered to the donor to prevent pain. Additionally, many people think that donating bone marrow means that actual bone is going to be removed from the spine during donation, which is never the case; in fact, the spine is not touched at all. To save a patient's life, only the liquid bone marrow that is inside the pelvic bone is needed, but never the bone itself.

To calm another fear: the personal information you provide when making your donation is not in danger either because at Be The Match® Mexico, it is encrypted for your security and confidence. No person will have access to your personal data; in case you turn out to be compatible with a patient, all the linking processes are done through our organization, which operates within the framework of the law in all countries, guaranteeing that no person will have access to your personal data. A year and a half after the transplant, if the patient and donor both decide to, they can get to know each other.

Finally, and despite everything, many people still wonder what the point of donating is, because surely there are millions of potential donors. This is wrong. In Mexico, only 10 percent of patients who need it, receive bone marrow or stem cell transplants and although for many this represents their only cure, there is still a long way to go for more patients to have a match. In the last five years at Be The Match®, we have attracted more than 100,000 individuals in Mexico wanting to save lives and we invite others to join our cause. That serves as the inspiration for us to continue working to promote the culture of bone marrow donation and add more heroes to our mission.