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[tiggrrl]

I just signed up to be a bone marrow donor.

I've wanted to do it for a while, but the $50 cost was holding me back. However, until the 19th of May (or 10,000 new registered donors) registration is free.You can sign up online and get a kit in the mail to do cheek swabs for tissue typing. It's very easy, and there are nowhere near enough marrow

Comments

[tiggrrl]

They address that here. I'm sure it isn't particularly pleasant, but it sounds like it isn't all that bad either, at least as the price of saving a life.

[inflectionpoint]

Thank you so much for reposting.

I know someone who may need it done and his sister was a match. Typed out and ready to go when he needed it. Then she got cancer, so now that's a no do. It sucks.

There is someone on wordweaverlynn's post about this who has done the donation, might be someone to ask about what donating was like.

I figure that the chances of being called are low, you can back out at any time, and... getting marrow sucked out of my hip won't be fun, but compared to what someone with lymphoma goes through, it is nothing.

[flayre]

Bryan and I did this last year when we were walking around our neighborhood and there was a marrow drive going on. Given that Bryan's mom is on a transplant list (albeit for a kidney, but still), I told him I felt it was important because we're wanting a new kidney for his mom, so, karma.

thanks for the info

[lightningrose]

My spouse signed up. I'm pretty sure the interferon I take for my MS leaves me ineligible, as the whole point is to modulate my malfunctioning immune system. I also sent this out to my military spouses' listserve and a playgroup listserve I belong to (the former having more of the needed groups than the latter) and wrote up a cut-and-paste letter for spouse to pass along to his squadron. Hopefully we can make a dent.

[dealan_de]

I've been on the list since the early 90's. Used to give blood whenever the Red Cross came to the UC Davis campus and they were signing up bone marrow donors.

What's amazing is that I got called to donate once! Turns out my initial test matched a leukemia victim in Sweden of all places. I was sent for additional tests and counceled on what it would mean to actually donate.

Donating can be painful and there is a couple of days of recov time, but you'd be saving a life!

The results of the in depth tests came back and I was a perfect match for this woman. So cool. And I was put on "stand-by" for a few days. But she and her family decided not to procede. I am hoping this mean that she was winning her fight. But I will never know.

But I am proud that I got the chance to try.

[femme_roses]

I just registered. Thank you for the link