Also: Recovery times vary depending on the individual and type of donation. Most donors are able to return to work, school, and other activities within 1 to 7 days after donation.
PBSC donors can expect to experience a headache, or bone or muscle aches for several days before collection, a side effect of the filgrastim injections. These effects disappear shortly after collection. Most PBSC donors report that they feel completely recovered within 2 weeks of donation. Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for a few days or longer following the donation. Most marrow donors report that they feel completely recovered within 3 weeks of donation.
We will follow up with you until you are able to resume normal activity. For more information, see After You Donate.
What you can expect for a recovery timeframe varies depending on the type of donation.
Marrow and PBSC donors should expect to return to work, school and most other activities within 1 to 7 days.
A good rule of thumb is the more physically demanding the job, the longer the recovery. For example, if your job involves heavy lifting, the timeframe may be closer to 7 days.
Most marrow donors report that they feel completely recovered within 3 weeks of donation.
Most PBSC donors report that they feel completely recovered within 2 weeks of donation.
Follow-up
Your donor center coordinator will follow up with you until you are able to resume normal activity.
After that, if you chose to participate in our long-term donor follow-up study, we or your donor center will contact you by phone every other year to ask health-related questions. This phone call would take about 5–10 minutes. For complete information about the long-term donor follow-up study, contact us at LTDFU@nmdp.org or (800) 526–7809 ext. 4365.
Your donor center can also answer your questions and help with any issues related to your donation. If you need further help, you can contact our Donor Advocacy Program.