Knowing a repeat donor candidate’s first-time experience and stem cell yields could help transplant centers decide if second donations should occur, researchers concluded after conducting a study involving >22,600 individuals. Investigators compared experiences of 1) second-time donors giving marrow (n=118) to those making only 1 marrow donation (n=5,829) and 2) second-time donors giving peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs; n=602) to first-time PBSC donors (n=16,095). Among the results:

• There were no substantial differences in maximum skeletal pain, maximum symptoms, or recovery time between second- and first-time donors.
• The yield of marrow nucleated cells and PBSC CD34+ cells was lower from second donations.
• Female (PBSC and marrow) and obese donors (PBSC) had higher skeletal pain and/or toxicity with a second donation.
• PBSC donors who had significant pain/toxicity with the first donation tended to experience the same with second donation—and they took longer to recover.