New test to increase numbers of bone marrow donors

By Brandie Umar - Executive Director of Content | July 2nd, 2010

The Anthony Nolan Trust has introduced a new method of identfying bone marrow donors which it hopes could simplify the process of becoming a donor and increase the number of donors in its' database.

Traditionally, bone morrow donors are found and matched to recipients through a blood test which dentified the donors tissue type allowing them to be effectively matched with patients in need of bone marrow transplants. British cancer charity, Anthony Nolan Trust says saliva testing is as effective in identifying tissue types as from saliva a patients DNA can be successfully analyzed.

Using the saliva tissue testing method means anyone wishing to add themselves to the database of bone marrow donors would not have to visit a doctor for a blood test and instead could send a saliva sample, along with a completed health questionaire to the bone marrow register.

The Anthony Nolan Trust initiated the saliva testing method in2009 and 5,000 people have registered with the

British Bone Marrow Registry since then using the saliva test kit.

Potential bone marrow donors must be healthy, with no known illnesses or conditions, aged between 18-40 (except in mitigating circumstances when, for exmaple, an exact match can be found between family members slightly outside of this age range), and must weigh over 50kilos.