Bone marrow donation in Poland: 2021 update, and the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on haematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Abstract

Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a treatment modality that saves the health and lives of a growing number of patients around the world. In the majority of cases, the procedure is conducted to treat haematologic neoplasms, although it can also be used as a therapy for some non-haematooncological diseases. The progress that has been taking place in the field of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation involves the need for recruiting more and more potential unrelated bone marrow donors for allotransplantation. In Poland, the number of people registering as potential bone marrow donors has been continuously growing and in order to maintain this trend, it is necessary, above all, to consistently spread the noble idea of bone marrow donation and to raise Poles’ awareness and knowledge about haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Unfortunately, the situation caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic limited the opportunities to act in public space and, as a consequence, it has become more difficult to achieve the objectives associated with recruiting new potential donors. The article provides a presentation of ethical and practical aspects associated with bone marrow donations as well as an overview of the legal situation concerning bone marrow donating and transplantation in Poland. The purpose of the paper is to also present some of the changes in transplantation procedures that have emerged as a consequence of the current epidemiological situation. The authors would like to emphasize the importance and the rightfulness of taking action that enables further development of transplantology.

Secondary Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 19 Pandemic on Patients and the Cellular Therapy Healthcare Ecosystem

“…Recruitment of donors also significantly declined because the DKMS stopped public offline donor recruitment, resulting in a 40% wane in new donors during the pandemic 39 . Similar struggles with bone marrow donor recruitment were also seen in other countries like Poland 40 .…”

Awareness and Acceptance of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Sickle Cell Disease in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia

“…Thus, similar programs are warranted at the national level and could be integrated into the curriculum or extracurricular activities of medical schools in Saudi Arabia. To increase awareness at the public level, a recent Polish experience was reported by Janowiak-Majeranowska et al [25], in which they found that exploiting social media and organizing national days that were designed to improve public knowledge about HSCT seemed promising. These ideas seem doable and can also be applied to our community in Saudi Arabia.…”

‘Be the Match’. Predictors of Decisions Concerning Registration as a Potential Bone Marrow Donor—A Psycho-Socio-Demographic Study

“…In many cases, the application of a bone marrow (BM) transplant in hematological diseases, especially hematological malignancies, primary immunodeficiency, and some solid tumors, have become the treatment of choice [3][4][5][6][7][8]. The multiplicity of cases involving cancerous diseases of this type, and the increasingly younger age of patients, forces modern societies to accept the necessity for developing the idea of donation and recruitment of a suitable number of potential donors [1,[9][10][11], and hence contributing to saving many patients. Among donations, one important type is the altruistic donation of a living person, with particular consideration of donation designed to benefit unrelated people (Living Anonymous Donation to a Stranger-LADS).…”