History and legal aspects of bone marrow donor banks in Brazil

Introduction: Bone marrow transplants primarily depend on people who previously registered to be donors. From then on, the search for compatibility between donor and recipient begins. Objective: To describe the historical landmarks and the legal apparatus of bone marrow donor banks in Brazil based on an integrative review. Methods: LILACS database and PubMed and SciELO journals were used. The term bone marrow transplantation was the descriptor. Eligibility criteria were: articles with the theme of Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) and studies carried out on the national territory. Results: A total of 88,855 articles were identified, among which 185 met the eligibility criteria. After they were thoroughly read, 14 articles were selected. The studies pointed out fragments that dealt with important historical landmarks for the establishment of bone marrow transplantation as a conventional treatment for oncohematological diseases. Conclusion: The use of BMT has a history of more than thirty years in Brazil. However, none of the articles identified specifically addresses the historical content of bone marrow transplantation.