Since January 1, the maximum age for registering on the national register of bone marrow donors has been lowered by the Biomedicine Agency from 60 to 35 years. By focusing its search for donors on younger subjects, this new limit makes it possible to have grafts of better quality, rich in stem cells, essential to optimize the chances of transplants.
- The Biomedicine Agency has decided to lower the registration limit on the registers of bone marrow donors from 60 to 35 years.
- The younger the donors, the more grafts are rich in stem cells.
- Donors over 35 who have already been registered will continue to be on the list until they are 60 years old.
This is one of the changes from 1er January 2021 which went almost unnoticed. Since the beginning of the year, the National Agency for Biomedicine, the public establishment responsible for the removal and transplantation of organs, tissues and bone marrow, has lowered the age for registering on the register of voluntary bone marrow donors.
Bone marrow richer in stem cells
From now on, the age limit for registration on the French register of voluntary bone marrow donors has been lowered from 60 to 35 years. Donors always remain registered on the register until they reach the age of 60, but this aims to optimize the time spent on the register.
This change occurs for several reasons. First, because more than 70% of the donors collected are under 35 years old according to the Biomedicine Agency. In addition, this age restriction is also in line with the needs of practitioners. As the Biomedicine Agency points out, “when a choice is possible, transplant doctors favor young donors for better results, as demonstrated by various international scientific publications.”
Longer donors on the waiting list
During a transplant, age and sex are two important data because the younger a donor is, the more the grafts he gives are rich in stem cells, which allows a faster take. Similarly, waiting lists for donors are often long, with contact being made after eight years on average. Thus, by lowering the maximum age for registration on the list, the donor has a better chance of remaining on the list for a long time, and ultimatelyto be contacted to help a sick person.
In its press release, the Biomedicine Agency also explains that it wants “diversify the geographical origins of new people who register to improve the chances of finding a compatible donor for each patient. This diversity of profiles is present among the 18-35 age group.”
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