Philadelphia advocates push for job protections for bone marrow donors

Lifesaving Leave Act of 2024introduced by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana). last monthwould amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide 40 non-consecutive hours of unpaid leave for blood stem cell and bone marrow donors.

“When someone is called to donate, they don’t have to worry about whether they can make a living doing their job to save someone’s life,” said Crofton, 9, who currently works for the Philadelphia School District. . Several years have passed since the transplant.

Approximately 22,827 According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants were performed in the United States in 2021, the most recent year of available data.

of National Donor Registry is comprised of 9 million U.S.-based participants, including an estimated 180,000 Pennsylvanians, and works with international donor registries to provide more potential donors.

Bone marrow transplantation It is most commonly used to treat blood cancers, recurrence or recurrence of other cancers, bone marrow deficiencies, and certain immune deficiencies.

Once a registered donor is matched with a patient in need of a transplant, the donor is asked to undergo a series of medical tests to ensure they are healthy enough to donate.

The actual donation process can be done within a few hours on an outpatient basis. The doctor administers anesthesia and uses needles to extract liquid bone marrow from both sides of the donor’s pelvis.

Kim Venera, a nurse at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who specializes in bone marrow transplants, said most donors return to normal activities within a few days.

Even though donating bone marrow requires less time off than donating solid organs like kidneys or liver, some people still end up turning it down, Venera said.

“Most people say no because they’re afraid of losing their job,” she says. “It’s shocking because this family is kind of sitting here waiting to hear that someone is going to take the time to donate and save their child’s life. , you have to rely on the next best thing.”

But relying on the next best option, a partial bone marrow match, is never ideal, Venera said.

“It’s someone’s life,” she said. “If you’re at a restaurant and you run out of a certain meal, ‘Plan B’ is fine, but when it comes to your health and life and death, you can’t choose ‘Plan B.’ Plan A is required. ”