mcm1610 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I just received a letter from them (which every time I do gets me excited that maybe I've been chosen, but then I think, "well, they'd probably call or email if they needed me, right?") telling me that I fit into a sample of people that are 5x more likely to be a matching donor. It's the first letter I've gotten in a while, and it reminded me about it in general. As many of you guys know from my general bitching in the +/- thread or other mentions, my mother is still recovering from polycythemia vera which evolved into myleofibrosis. In February of 2010 she had a bone marrow / stem cell transplant in Boston and recovered there until February of 2011. She has been dealing with Graft-vs-Host Disorder since, but that's beside the point. The main point is that without a donor, she would have been dead in February 2010. There was NO ONE in this country - not a family member, not a friend, not anyone on the registry in the entire USA - that was a match. There's I believe 10 qualities they try to match with. The best we could do was matching 8/10 with a woman in Germany who actually had to donate twice because my mom needed a booster. The moral of the story is that with very little effort, and just a few hours of inconvenience, you can save someone's life. The need is out there. PLEASE. Please visit www.BeTheMatch.org and join their registry. They'll send you a small package, you swab the inside of cheek a few times and mail it back to them, then wait for a call. You may not get it. Most people actually don't. But what if you did? What if you could save someone's life by stopping into the hospital for a few hours? Outside of your own health issues, I can't think of a good reason not to. Give the gift of life. www.BeTheMatch.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benchwarmer Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I was pretty bummed I couldn't be a donor due to my asthma. Especially since it's really mild and under control. People should definitely do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 It's also a chance for some of the arm-chair slacktivists in this country to have some positive impact beyond forwarding a video and clicking "like" on Facebook. There's real, tangible ways to make an impact on the world. This is a very easy way to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goraiders Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Totally agree. I signed up while giving blood once (which is another easy thing to do). There are video ads at all the gas stations here of a couple parents asking people to register because their son is sick. Its really sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin848 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I am a member of the Be The Match Registry. I sent my DNA samples in a few months ago and finally received a comfirmation that I'd be getting my membership card soon. I hope I get called on to be able to help someone. This is one thing I really want to do. I mean really, most of us have pretty easy lives, at least right now. Why not give something back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avery Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 ya, i think anyone who can do this, should. it's real easy. unfortunately, i can't because of a health issue i was born with. what's saddest to me most of all though is that someone i knew died recently because a match could not be found for him: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2011/04/hockey-kings-nhl-tanner-raboin.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Bump, just to give people another shot to think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I think I am going to do this. Just for my information, though, what is giving bone marrow like? Does it totally regenerate in my body if I did? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Yes. Your body is constantly using and rebuilding bone marrow. You kind of have a limit, but most people never come close to reaching it. If you do, you probably have some disease or disorder yourself. For instance, my mom's original disease (polycythemia) was her bone marrow overproducing blood cells and burning itself out, so her bones are filled with scar tissue instead of marrow. A healthy person has enough marrow for decades more than you'll use. The donation process now is very simple. Back in the day, you'd go to the hospital and they'd stab you with an enormous needle and suck it out of your spine or lower back or hip or something.. Now they pump you up with a steroid so you produce more stem cells than normal, then you come back a couple days later and you get hooked up to a machine that draws your blood like if you donate plasma (or whatever part they hook you to that spinner-machine). I think you can still opt for the needle way if you want, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I signed up. I'll post how it goes and if I give any marrow.` Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcm1610 Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Great! Thanks for doing that. You'll probably forget this thread exists by the time you (if you) get called to donate. It's a sit+wait game after you send your swabs in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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