When you join Stem Cell Donors Australia, you might one day be called to donate stem cells to someone living with a blood cancer or disorder. If you donate stem cells from your blood, which is how most donations happen today, you’ll need a short course of injections beforehand.
In the days leading up to Donation Day, you’ll receive a medication called G-CSF. It’s short for granulocyte colony stimulating factor. This medication helps your body make more stem cells and move them into your bloodstream so doctors can collect them.
It’s normal to wonder why injections are needed before donating stem cells, especially if you’ve never heard of G-CSF before. Most donors are surprised by how straightforward the process is. The injections happen daily over four days, the needles are tiny, the effects are temporary, and what you’re doing could literally save someone’s life.
What G-CSF does and why injections are needed
Your bone marrow makes blood cells from stem cells. These starter cells can become red cells, white cells or platelets. Most of the time, stem cells stay inside your bone marrow.
G-CSF signals your bone marrow to produce more stem cells and release them into your bloodstream. This allows doctors to collect stem cells directly from your blood on Donation Day instead of from the bone itself.
Doctors call this peripheral blood stem cell donation. It’s now used in about 90 percent of stem cell donations in Australia.
How G-CSF supports the donation process
For a stem cell transplant to work, doctors need a high number of healthy stem cells from the donor. G-CSF helps your body produce that increase.
In the four days leading up to Donation Day, donors have daily G-CSF injections to support this process. During this time, your body works harder than usual to prepare enough stem cells for collection. After the donation, your stem cell levels return to normal within days.
This step is short and temporary. It’s also one of the reasons donating stem cells through your blood has become so effective.
How G-CSF is given
Donors can choose how they’d like to receive their G-CSF injections. Some donors prefer to visit a clinic where a nurse gives the injections. Others feel comfortable giving the jabs themselves at home after a nurse shows them how.
This process is similar to how people with diabetes inject insulin. Millions of people do this every day. While the idea of giving yourself a jab can sound intimidating at first, most donors say it’s much easier than they expected.
You receive each jab just under the skin, usually in the belly. The needle is very fine, so the injection takes only a few seconds and feels more like a quick sting than a traditional injection.
Your donor coordinator guides you through this stage and checks in to make sure you’re feeling okay.
Side effects of G-CSF
Everyone experiences G-CSF a little differently. Some donors feel almost nothing beyond mild tiredness. Others notice muscle or bone aches, similar to how your body might feel after a big workout. These feelings happen because your body works harder to produce and release extra stem cells.
Some donors feel aches in their lower back, hips or shoulders. Simple things like rest, gentle movement, a warm shower or paracetamol can help. Most donors describe these effects as mild, short-lived and manageable.
As donor Aadil shared:
“The side effects I had from the daily jabs was some aches and pains in my body, especially when I woke up. Maybe you feel a little bit off for a couple of days, but I took some Panadol, and mostly I felt fine. And if you consider what you’re potentially doing for someone, I think it’s totally worth it.”
You’re not doing this for nothing. Those few days of jabs could help give someone a second chance at life.
Side effects usually ease within a day or two after Donation Day. Your medical team checks in with you throughout the process and after your donation. If anything feels off, support is always available.
Safety and support
Doctors and researchers have used G-CSF safely around the world for many years. They use it for both stem cell donors and patients receiving treatment. Medical teams understand G-CSF well and monitor it closely.
Before you start, your donor team completes health checks to make sure donation is safe for you. They support you during the injection days, on Donation Day, and check in afterwards. If you have questions at any point, you can always contact a medical professional.
What happens next
After the days of G-CSF injections, you’ll go to a hospital or collection centre for the stem cell donation itself. Doctors use a process called apheresis. A machine filters out the stem cells and returns the rest of your blood to you.
The donation is very similar to donating plasma and usually takes around four to five hours. You’ll stay awake the whole time. Many donors watch Netflix, scroll through their socials, listen to music or chat with the nursing staff looking after them.
Once the collection finishes, staff monitor you and let you know when it’s safe to head home. Medical teams carefully prepare your donated stem cells and deliver them to the patient who needs them. For that person, your donation could be life saving.
Why it matters
For some people living with blood cancer or a serious blood disorder, a stem cell transplant is their only chance. That chance exists because someone else chooses to step up.
What might feel like a few days of effort on your side can change the course of someone else’s life.
That’s why this matters.
Ready to make a difference?
If you’re aged 18 to 35, you can start the process today. It only takes a few minutes to sign up online, then a cheek swab kit is mailed to your home.
Be a legend, save a life.
References
TLR Foundation – Become a stem cell donor
Stem Cell Donors Australia – It hardly hurt at all: donors discuss G-CSF injections