"The more people there are in the registry, the more likely it is that the sick person will receive their donation."

With the collaboration of the Josep Carreras Foundation, on May 15 and 16, the Plaça Cívica of the UAB hosted the Dona-MO campaign for the second consecutive year, which seeks to obtain bone marrow donors for the treatment of leukemia.

Although last year in the campaign, PhD. Enric Carreras, one of the world's most recognized hematologists, participated in a conference, this time, for two days, members of the university community could find tables with informative pamphlets in the square from 12.30 to 18.30 h. A total of 32 volunteers participated, among them, Alex Raventós, third-year student of Genetics, who was the promoter of the campaign in the university and its coordinator during the two years that has been done. We talk to him to find out about the success of the campaign and what the process of bone marrow donation is.

1) Where did the Dona-MO initiative come from?

The initiative is my own. It arose from the case of Pablo Ráez, who was a boy who died a couple of years ago that he had leukemia. The boy was 20 years old, he was very athletic and I followed his Instagram account, he was very famous, he came out in the news. Precisely because he was a very healthy person who received two donations that were rejected, for simple bad luck, and became a symbol of leukemia and bone marrow donation. This started to get bigger through social networks and I perceived it as anyone else. And one day talking to a friend I thought we should do something about it. My friend, who was from Málaga, told me "Hey, your university is huge, can not you do anything there where you have about 40,000 students?", And I thought maybe. From that moment on, I started thinking about the idea and thought that maybe a conference could be held with someone important. At that time, I already knew the José Carreras Foundation, and I had wanted to make me a donor for a long time, and when I arrived in Barcelona in the summer, I contacted the vice-rector of students from the Biosciences Faculty, Mercè Martí Ripoll, who encouraged me and provided me with tools so that I could do it. I contacted the Josep Carreras Foundation, with whom I had great feedback as well, and, little by little, the campaign came out and went very well.

2) Then, you are a bone marrow donor?

I have been a donor for a year and a half or so. But in the donation of marrow you are not a donor,you are in the donor registry. If someday, for example today, a person suffers from leukemia, they do a compatibility test and it's like in Tinder, if they make a match, they call me to make the donation and it works like this for anyone who registers.

3) What does it take to be a donor?

In general, anyone from 18 to 40 years with a good general health. The most specific pathologies, especially those related to blood - such as anemia or some type of blood disease - would be a matter of commenting with the Josep Carreras Foundation through a telephone they have or by mail to analyze the case more specifically. They look at what you have and say "yes" or "no". But, in general, anyone can be a bone marrow donor if they have normal general health.

4) In the process of bone marrow donation, why do you need donors who are not related?

It is not that they are needed. We need a donor, a compatible donor. What happens? That only 30% of the time, donations come from relatives who are usually brothers and cousins. What's going on? That there are people who do not have siblings or cousins ​​or people who do, but they are not compatible. That is why 70% of donations come from people with who do not have any type of relationship. People that, by simple chance, are compatible with the sick person.

Why do we look for more donors? Last year, for example, there were only 500 people who donated marrow for a patient in Spain. What happens? That if 300,000 people from a database 500 are taken out to make the donation, from 600,000 donors 1,000 will be taken out, and there will be saved 500 more lives. It's a probabilistic issue: the more people in the registry, the more likely it is that the sick person receives their donation.

5) What risks can there be in the donation?

Almost none. The process can be done in two ways: 60% of the time it is done by a puncture in one arm and another in the other. Before, they put some growth factors that make you feel as if you had a cold. Nothing, a little headache and that's it, and no danger. Then you go through this machine, where you are about three hours, they take your blood and they put it back in the other arm, and the machine keeps stem cells that are the ones that will be used to donate to the sick person. The rest, 40% of the time is performed by epidural or general anesthesia with a puncture in the hip bone. You are asleep, you feel absolutely nothing. If it is general anesthesia you have to be 24 hours under observation and, the next day, the area of ​​the coccyx hurts a bit, the same thing you notice when you are punctured by the doctor.

General and epidural anesthesia are very scary because something negative can happen. Very specific studies are done to each person to see that the general anesthesia does not give any bad effect for the donor. We must bear in mind that there is a lot of general anesthesia being done in Spain and there is a negligible incidence of dangerousness. And when there is less marrow donation even because you have already done previous studies, it is not even an emergency operation that you have to do in which you do not know exactly how you will respond to anesthesia.

6) So, does the procedure depend on how serious the condition of the patient is?

These are medical issues that I do not control. It depends a little on what the doctor considers. Sometimes it also depends on the quantity. For example, if the patient is a child, he needs a small amount of stem cells and if you are an adult, it is probably enough with the machine. What happens? That if you are a person with a smaller complexion and the receiver is going to be a big person, they will need, perhaps, bone marrow of the hip because, in theory, you can get more quantity. This is something that is discussed with the doctors once they have called you to make the donation.

This has to be clear: a person who becomes a donor can not say, well, yes they can but should not say "I am a donor but only of blood, if I am going to do general anesthesia, I say no". Why? Because when you enter the process the sick person is treated with immunosuppressants so that they have a better reception of the marrow and do not have a rejection. If you do this treatment and then do not receive the marrow, it can be deadly for the person. In fact, a large part of the percentage, for not telling you all, can die. That is to say, a person who becomes a donor must be sure that if they say general anesthesia he will do general anesthesia. It is not a scare, nothing happens, the risk is almost none, but you have to be aware that it can happen and you have to be totally sure of doing it. If not a person who says "I do not want to do it by general anesthesia", we prefer them not to be a donor. We prefer first that they overcome that fear and that they trust us. If not, do not be a donor.

7) Have there been cases in which the donor has been left behind at the last moment and the patient died?

Yes, there have been cases. They are sad cases. I was told one last year, explained at the conference by Núria Marieges, who is the coordinator of the Josep Carreras Foundation. I do not remember the exact details, but it was a person who backed down at the last minute and the receiver died because they had given him the previous treatment. The thing to become a donor is something that you have to be totally sure of. It's something very simple, I encourage everyone that it can be done, but you have to look good and be safe. It is not a thing to be taken lightly either.

8) Can the donor know the person he or she donates to?

No, it is an altruistic and international and anonymous donation. How does it work? Imagine that there is compatibility in Brazil. There are foundations and registries in each country which are in contact. If they call me and extract marrow, I will not know where it is going, nor if it is to the other part of the world or to Spain. In fact, it is forbidden to know the person so that neither the receiving person tries to reward the donor financially or in any way, nor that the donor can ever demand compensation of any kind.

9) In relation to the past year, how do you value the Dona-MO campaign that has been done this year?

I think it has improved. Last year was a little different. We had the part of the conference of Dr. Enric Carreras, which was not very successful, the attendance was about forty people, and many were the volunteers who were already informed. I do not want to say that it was bad because it was very interesting, but the attendance was not good. What have we done this year? Understand that, for one thing or another, people do not attend this type of conference, unless they are very interested in the subject. And we saw that the information table last year was very good: we informed a lot of people, the volunteers had a good day, they liked the project, they had good feedback, as an organizer and coordinator I think it was very good, and we decided focus on this. This year we focus more on it and we improve it. Last year was a bit seedier. We had the tables with the posters, it was the first time we did it and we did not know how it was going to go, but, this year, we already knew where we were going. From the Josep Carreras Foundation they lent themselves totally, they brought some banners, some tablecloths with the logo of the foundation, some candies, etc. so that it was more striking. They also gave us some cool orange shirts this year and with that I think we have achieved a better result this year. And, of course, the location: to do it in the Plaça Cívica instead of a single faculty, you get to everyone who goes through the square, and you have to go through it to get to the railways. So I think it went very well and that we improved a lot.

10) Would you say you got donors?

Of course. It is impossible to say a number because what we do is to inform. We do not have any form or any proof. For example, I have a volunteer friend who went to England as an Erasmus and they did a similar thing, but they took the samples right there. I personally think that it is better for the person to think about it at home and then go to the center where this is done, which is the Hospital Vall d'Hebron. But the other one seems to me also very good initiative, you get a lot of people. There are many ways to do it, we do it by reporting, but we do not know how many people would really sign up. Many people tell me that they loved it, that they knew a little about it, but that they had not stopped to look at it and that thanks to the information we have provided, they would like to sign up. But, of course, we do not know the real number.

11) Will you repeat the campaign next year?

The intention is that yes. Next year I'm in fourth year and I'm quite busy, and I think it's going to take a while to get organized because it's a lot of work and hours. But as the foundation is very willing to collaborate with us and from the Community Involvement Unit they have given us all the facilities as well, I already have four first-year genetics girls who have told me that they have loved the project this year and that they I would like to take a little more step to coordinate it. And I'm delighted. They were volunteers and I think they will be a great replacement.