Be The Match

On November 18, 2002 I took the first step to help save someone's life - I signed up to become a member of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry.   

It was quick, painless, and it made me feel good about myself; I was doing something worthwhile that just may save someone's life.

For many patients with life threatenting diseases such as leukemia, a bone marrow transplant is their best or only hope for a cure.  Many do not have a donor match in their family and need to rely on people - such as me - to help save their lives.

I often hear that being a donor of marrow - if called upon when matched - is painful.  I've heard the stories, the ones where they need to drill in to the hip bones to extract the marrow.   But you know what?  A little pain on my part isn't anything compared to to the pain of someone going through cancer.  I can - and will -put up with the discomfort in order for someone to have a 2nd chance at life.

I urge anyone interested in becoming a donor to visit the following link: http://www.bethematch.org/ to find out how you can help.  

Namaste'

Comments

JDB said…
Why to go Aunt Sherry! The process itself is not too painful anymore. They will give you some medication to stimulate your bone marrow. This can make you feel achy and such for a few days (like you worked out too hard). Then, they will hook you up to a machine and harvest your bone marrow from you blood (the machine is similiar to the dialysis machine Grandma was on).
I am donating whole blood today:) My blood type is O-, plus I am negative for the CMV virus, which makes my blood perfect for little babies....
The whole process requires about 1 hour of your time, and makes a world of difference to so many people.
Sherry said…
Thanks for the information Joan. I had heard that there were some advancements to the process in which the marrow was harvested. I think this is such a worthwhile cause -a gesture so small but the rewards can be huge.

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