Men remain under-represented among bone marrow donors, even though their donation is crucial to promoting the success of transplants, the biomedicine agency warns ahead of World Bone Marrow Donor Day on Saturday.
The agency is taking this opportunity to launch an appeal to recruit new donors, mainly male.
In fact, the national register of voluntary bone marrow donors only includes 35% men, while more than 70% of cells transplanted each year come from male donors.
Doctors report that a transplant using bone marrow cells taken from a man significantly increases the chances of success.
This distinction is explained on an immunological level: in women, antibodies are naturally developed during each pregnancy (even if it is not carried to term). However, these antibodies complicate the good tolerance of the bone marrow graft after the operation for the patient.
Since they are absent in men, the risk of complications is reduced.
When given the choice between two compatible grafts, transplant centers favor a male donor.
According to a study conducted by the Biomedicine Agency (in March, with a panel of 600 people), 45% men feel well informed about bone marrow donation and 63% say they are ready to do so.
But the transformation of intentions into registrations remains disappointing, the agency judges.
According to her, the cause is questions or preconceived ideas surrounding donations. For example, 43% of the men interviewed think that registration on the register necessarily presupposes a donation in the process.
Moreover, only 42% probes and one in two men know that bone marrow has nothing to do with spinal cord.
In 80% cases, the donation is made by blood sampling: equivalent to a platelet donation, it lasts between three and four hours.
To become a donor, you must be in perfect health, be between 18 and 35 years old, answer a medical questionnaire and take a biological sample (saliva sample or blood test during final registration), which will determine the biological identity card of the future donor.
English 
French