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Bone marrow donor

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Bone marrow is the soft, jelly-like tissue that is found in the hollow centres of certain bones. It's the home of what are called 'stem cells' which are the building blocks of blood itself. These building blocks are: the red cells - which carry oxygen; the white cells - which fight infection, and the platelets - which stop bleeding. All these cells are produced by the stem cells and released into the blood stream via the veins and thin tissue surrounding the bone.

Without the bone marrow, blood can not be produced, so when things go wrong and the bone marrow becomes damaged, the patient must receive a stem cell transplant to survive.

Click on the links below to learn more:

Why do we need donors?
Can I help?
British Bone Marrow Registry Q&A's
Campaign for bone marrow donors
More Information

Bone Marrow PDF


Tim's story

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