Are There Fatal Complications Donors Need To Worry About When Giving Bone Marrow?

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A New Jersey school principal's death - after he reportedly gave a bone marrow donation – is now raising questions about the risks to donors.

CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez reports that the complications tied to bone marrow donation are actually very rare.

The circumstances surrounding Dr. Derrick Nelson's death are not completely known. Details as to what actually happened to Principal Nelson or what the cause of death may have been have not been released.

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A friend told CBS2's meg Baker that Nelson suffered complications after donating bone marrow to a 14-year-old boy in France and was in a coma for weeks before his passing.

Serious complications from bone marrow donation are exceedingly rare. According to the National Marrow Donor Program, serious complications occur in less than three percent of donations.

There are occasionally some effects donors can experience after giving bone marrow; most are not life-threatening.

Those include problems with anesthesia as well as bone, nerve, and muscle damage from the marrow extraction.

The most likely cause of a problem or reaction is due to the anesthesia.

Gomez added that if Principal Nelson had a marrow donation-related complication, he may also have had an undetected heart disease issue that was triggered by the donation procedure.

"The important thing is that complications from marrow donation are very rare… fatal complications are almost unheard of and donation can save lives," Gomez said.