Related Donor Services

Help your patients overcome barriers to related donor transplant

Video: Lisa's care team at VCU used Related Donor Services to make it possible for Lisa's sister to donate closer to home.

Your patients need to have access to their best donor option, whether their match is an unrelated donor or a fully matched or haploidentical related donor. Common geographic, logistical and financial barriers for related donors can slow down or prevent transplant in the timeframe you need.

Related Donor Services helps remove those barriers to connect you with a patient's best available therapy.

Download WU/collection form

Related Donor Services can:

  • Be used for any related donor case, even when workup and collection will occur at your center
  • Allow your team to focus only on preparing your patient for transplant
  • Be customized to fit the specific workup and collection needs of your center
  • Alleviate capacity constraints at your center by tapping into our full Network of apheresis centers and collection centers

Overcoming Barriers for Your Patients and Related Donors

When we facilitate your patient’s related donor collection, your patient and U.S.-based donor both receive the full support and benefits we provide when we facilitate a transplant with an unrelated donor.

Donor Benefits 

To help related donors overcome travel, financial and logistical barriers to donation, Related Donor

Services assists with:

  • Coordinated travel and lodging arrangements for the donor and one companion, paid for by the NMDP/Be The Match
  • Reimbursement for out-of-pocket, donation-related expenses, such as transportation and other incidentals
  • Reimbursement for lost wages due to donation
  • Donor insurance to cover medical expenses
  • Donor education and support

Download this PDF for related donors explaining Related Donor Services and its benefits.

Patient Financial Assistance

One of the biggest patient benefits is access to our financial assistance for expenses before and after transplant. Learn more about the financial assistance available for your patients and how to apply.

Related Content

Download flowchart: Paths to hematopoietic cell transplantation
Related Donor Services provides your center with multiple options for supporting related donor transplants, from HLA typing through cell collection and delivery to your center.

Policy for Facilitation of Related Donor Requests - P00141

With the safety of Related Donors (RD) in mind, we developed clear guidance for RD collections that can be shared with the TC and other members of the NMDP network. This policy outlines the minimum age for RDs and HLA typing requirements for recipients and RDs when NMDP facilitates a RD stem cell transplant. 

Services Available

To order Related Donor Services for your patient, download and complete the appropriate form and submit it to your Case Manager. For all Related Donor Services cases, NMDP/Be The Match reviews all requests on a case-by-case basis for donors as young as 16, as well as those into their 70s.

Sample collection and typing

This service includes shipment of a buccal swab kit to the related donor and delivery to your center or one of our labs for HLA typing. To request sample collection and typing, download the request form.

If you have a patient who is unable to access affordable related donor typing in a timely manner due to lack of or limited coverage and delayed authorizations, your center may request assistance for IR typing by noting the need and insurance coverage type in the rationale field of the request form and contacting your Case Manager. This assistance is being funded by a limited grant. Assistance requests will be accepted beginning Feb. 22, 2022 for as long as the funding is available through Sept. 19, 2022.

Workup and collection (adult donors only)

This service provides facilitation of the donor’s workup and collection, including the related donor evaluation and medical exam; HPC, Apheresis, HPC, Marrow and/or MNC, Apheresis collection; and product transport to your center. During COVID-19, we have reduced the workup and collection fee to $15,000 for all fully matched and haploidentical related donors in the U.S. or Mexico. We are also waiving the requirement to have a signed Related Donor Services agreement in place for a transplant center to receive the reduced fee. View the transplant center fee schedule for list prices on workup activities.

Customized workup services

We offer custom workup activities for U.S. related donors, which allows our transplant center partners to select individual services to meet the specific needs of their patients or center.  

You can request that we perform donor workup through the physical exam with a letter of recommendation for clearance. This allows your team to perform the product collection at your center. Or, we can continue to facilitate all aspects of workup and collection.  

International cell collection and transport

For related donors living outside the U.S. or Mexico, we work with partners around the world to coordinate the donor workup, collection and transport to your center. We have also established operations and partnerships in Mexico, with apheresis and collection center partners in Guadalajara and offices in Mexico City. This makes typing, workup, collection and product transport easier for relatives living in Mexico.

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Subsequent workup and collection (adult donors only) 

This service provides facilitation of a subsequent donation request for a related adult donor. The service is available whether the primary donation was performed at your transplant center or through the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP)/Be The Match®. It includes the related donor evaluation and medical exam; HPC, Apheresis, HPC, Marrow and/or MNC, Apheresis collection; and product transport to your center. Please submit the completed form to your case manager.

Questions about Related Donor Services? Complete the form below and one of our team members will be in contact with you soon.