OVERWEIGHT people are "equally good" stem cell donors as those of a healthy weight, a charity has found.
New research by the British Bone Marrow Registry and blood cancer charity Anthony Nolan found that clinically obese people can successfully donate cells through a simple procedure called peripheral blood stem cell collection (PBSC).
Stem cell transplants are used in the treatment of blood disorders and cancers.
Anthony Nolan said that in the past it was commonly thought that people with a high Body Mass Index (BMI) were more likely to experience side effects from donating their stem cells.
But the new research, found the contrary after a sample of 19 people with a BMI of 35 were assessed for a year after donating stem cells.
These donors had no more side effects than those people with a BMI of under 35.
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