Donors may experience mild discomfort during the HSC donation process
During the process of donating peripheral blood HSC, because the donor’s punctured limb cannot move freely during the whole process of collection (3-5 hours), and because of the effect of HSC mobilizer and blood anticoagulant, some people who are weak or sensitive to HSC mobilizer and blood anticoagulant may experience: loneliness, boredom, fatigue, sleepiness during the collection process, and if the collection speed is too fast They may also experience panic, nausea, and later on, numbness in the mouth and lips, bad taste in the mouth, and even cramps in the hands and feet.
There are usually 30% of donors who experience back pain, headache, back pain, and, in some cases, joint pain similar to a mild cold, later in the collection process, usually due to mobilization injections and prolonged bed rest, which disappears quickly after stopping the medication.
How do I respond?
Because most collections are performed in a hospital, the hospital will have a single room and dedicated medical staff to monitor the donor, and will provide cardiac monitoring to address any discomfort. During the collection process, the donor can be provided with entertaining TV programs (it is best to watch a DVD with a TV show or lecture of your choice) or talk to him or her, which can ease the donor’s mood.
If the donor is uncomfortable, it is common to give oral calcium gluconate, and in severe cases, intravenous calcium may be considered to relieve the symptoms; the onset and severity of these discomforts vary from person to person, and the donor should not be overly nervous or panicky; as long as he or she is relaxed, the brief discomfort will soon pass.