Foo - Be the Match

I decided to sign up to be a bone marrow donor after I heard a statistic that 70% of people in need do NOT have a donor in their family. Just dropped my registration kit in the mail this weekend. I'd encourage you to consider signing up, too! :thumb:

My friend looked at me with wide eyes and said "Do you KNOW what you have to DO for a marrow donation?". My response was simple: I've been very fortunate not to be in need, or actually, even know someone that has. But you never know what life might throw at you or someone you love, and I believe in good karma. My uncle was on a waiting list for years for a new heart, which he never received. This is something I can give and keep on living; I have the power to save a life by doing a very simple thing. A few days discomfort from donating marrow is nothing compared to a lifetime of something like leukemia, or the loss of a life because there wasn't a donor.

Putting it in perspective, he agreed. I hope you consider it, too!

FYI: When you go through the registration process it kind of looks like there is a charge to receive the donor kit (they send you a kit to send them a sample from the inside of your cheek), but you do NOT have to make a financial contribution, you will be sent the registry kit for free (it passes through a coupon code).

BE THE MATCH MARROW REGISTRY (http://www.marrow.org/)

I would register/donate in a heartbeat if the meds I'm on didn't prevent it.

If its not something you have to take (permanently) you could still register, and perhaps you wouldn't be taking it if/when you may be selected as a match?

If its not something you have to take (permanently) you could still register, and perhaps you wouldn't be taking it if/when you may be selected as a match?

Its pretty much for life. :(

But I do encourage anyone who can, to register/donate. You can save someones life maybe.

But I do encourage anyone who can, to register/donate. You can save someones life maybe.
:thumb:!

That Viagra gets you every time, I hear! :thumb: ;) :rolleyes:

I would register/donate in a heartbeat if the meds I'm on didn't prevent it.

Arti....when you sign up do they have to take a sample or something to know who you may/may not match?

Arti....when you sign up do they have to take a sample or something to know who you may/may not match?
Yes, they send you a kit to swab the inside of your cheek, with a postage-paid return envelope.
Its a pretty schnazzy process, when you register they assign you a barcode, so everything you receive & send back is coded to you.

That Viagra gets you every time, I hear! :thumb: ;) :rolleyes:

Isn't that pretty much the only drug we can be sure MV DOESN'T need?:D

Good on you for spreading the word Arti...and for reminding me, I am way overdue to donate blood and I need to give platelets. My type is in high demand.

I was able to sign up as a marrow donor during a regular blood donation.

As far as the marrow donation process, a coworker had his sister donate to him and she was hooked up to a machine like the one for donating platelets. They didn't harvest directly from her bones.

I was able to sign up as a marrow donor during a regular blood donation.

As far as the marrow donation process, a coworker had his sister donate to him and she was hooked up to a machine like the one for donating platelets. They didn't harvest directly from her bones.From what I have heard, that is a more common method these days than removing it directly from the bone. FAQ's (http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Myths_%26_Facts_about_Marrow_Don/index.html)

IF you are selected as a donor, you are first requested to give an additional (blood) sample (at that time there is still only a 1/12 chance you will be selected as a donor). At that time you also attend an information session with the particulars of donating, after which you can decide if you want to proceed with making the donation, or not. Since you're listed on the registry until age 60 (unless you request to be removed) any number of life changes may prevent it from being an optimum time to donate, so you are always given an option to decline.

Arti, do you know if they charge the party in need for the marrow? and if so what do they charge them and why? I was never big on donating something that was going to be sold to someone in need, if I'm donating my marrow why can't the doctors and surgeons donate their time and trade? I figure if everyone is going to charge for a service why shouldn't I?

Arti, do you know if they charge the party in need for the marrow? and if so what do they charge them and why? I was never big on donating something that was going to be sold to someone "in need.".Thats a good question. Their website covers a lot more info, but here's what I found on a quick search for cost. I couldn't find a statement about the cost to the recipient, so you may want to search/contact them yourself?

Participating in additional testing is your decision. There is no cost to you — any medical expenses are covered by the patient's insurance or the NMDP (which operates the Be The Match Registry). If you are unwilling or unable to participate, please tell us as soon as you decide.

---
Q: Who pays for the donation process? A: Donors never pay for donating, and are never paid to donate.

All medical costs for the donation procedure are covered by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), which operates the Be The Match Registry, or by the patient's medical insurance, as are travel expenses and other non-medical costs. The only costs to the donor might be time taken off from work.

http://www.aadp.org/pages/main.php?pageid=1

I have no worries about cost to me, but do worry that a person that may need the marrow badly and is "next in line" may be "skipped over" 'cause they can't pay for it, or their insurance Co denies them.

I have no worries about cost to me, but do worry that a person that may need the marrow badly and is "next in line" may be "skipped over" 'cause they can't pay for it, or their insurance Co denies them.I completely agree. I was just posting all I could find on the cost, you might want to ask them for add'l info...

I completely agree. I was just posting all I could find on the cost, you might want to ask them for add'l info...


Don't want to sound like I'm trying to "down" you post, :o you know I wouldn't do that.....right Arti? (I need assurance! :lol:)

Just FYI, the biggest need for marrow donors are for non-Caucasian people. My old girlfriend worked for the local blood bank/tissue program and all across the country, they have way more Caucasian donors than they need. They desperately need Latino, Black, Asian and all combinations thereto marrow donors in the USA. The closer the ethnicity, the higher chance of a successful match and transplant.

Good for you Arti! That's inspiring.

I don't donate blood nor am I an organ donor, for personal reasons.

Before ya go callin' me a hypocrite though, I am at risk for developing kidney disease (runs on biological father's side of the family.) which I've known about for more than 10 years. My half uncle just died of kidney disease and my biological paternal grandmother has the disease. Blah blah, long story short, I will not be accepting kidney donation, nor am I interested in spending years chained to a machine, not after seeing how my half uncle was wasting away from repeated failed transplants, he got the disease at age 40 (I'm 35 now.) I will probably choose another path.

^^^ Just FYI, if you develop end stage renal disease and don't do a transplant or dialysis, the other path is death.

That's kinda what I was talking about, MC, but I would decide what to do long before I reached that point. Had a lotta years to mull it over, I'm not the kind of person that can be chained to a machine like that, slowly wasting away. *shudder*

Anyway, I aint no hypocrite, and I've never had a blood transfusion either.

Luddite, if it ever gets to that, talk to your nephrologist about peritoneal dialysis. There are options that do not involve being connected to a dialysis machine.

Thanks for letting me know about that, MC...seems it's fraught with similar risks to dialysis.

Well if he was 40 and you are 35 you better hurry up and get married to dj so we can all come to the wedding.

BTW I need to go get screened for donations. Thanks for the reminder, Arti. Not too many Asians donate so they would loooooove me.

Siu lol...we've only been dating 5 weeks. Wait, how come you and Dan aint married eh???

Damn, I can actually do this. I figured it was going to be as stringent as donating blood, but apparently not. Signing up right now.

Edit: nevermind. They want 52 bucks to do it. The coupon code is invalid. I don't have that kind of money. :(

Arti - great thread and good for you for registering.

Just to add a little bit more info to the bone marrow harvesting processes, it is true that the only way to donate bone marrow was via a needle in the hip bone. The new process involves taking a drug for a week or so that stimulates the body's generation of bone marrow cells and then those cells are collected via the apheresis process. The "pain of donating" means sitting hooked up to a machine with a line in each arm for a couple hours - better than the sore hip you'd have from the other process. I believe they harvest the bone marrow cells more than once over the span of a week and merge those products to create a single, transfusable unit of bone marrow cells.

I've been registered in the bone marrow directory for decades but have never been called to donate. I always thought it would be really neat to donate bone marrow, even via the old hip bone process. It strikes me that donating blood or platelets is great in terms of helping save lives, but bone marrow takes that to a whole new level. It's really like donating an organ without losing that organ.

Damn, I can actually do this. I figured it was going to be as stringent as donating blood, but apparently not. Signing up right now.

Edit: nevermind. They want 52 bucks to do it. The coupon code is invalid. I don't have that kind of money. :(it seriously expired? that SUCKS! Email them and whine.
I understand they are trying to cover the cost of adding a donor to the registry, but seems that could be covered by private financial donors.