In July, I got an e-mail acknowledging my anniversary from joining the National Bone Marrow registry. In 2008, as Tyler was just beginning his path towards a bone marrow transplant, I went to my local blood bank and swabbed a Qtip from their registration kit around my mouth. With a small donation ($47) and that Qtip, I promised to honor my commitment to donate my bone marrow to a person in need.
I have not been asked to donate, but hundreds of e-mails/letters are sent out every day to potential matches. Even with all of that, there aren't quite enough of us on the list. There is an especially great need for people with varied ethnic backgrounds, as the closer your heritage matches the person in need, the more likely you are to match their HLA combination.
With a few friends expecting little babies this year, I also want to mention that you can donate cord blood from your baby's birth. Storing cord blood specifically for your own child's needs can be expensive, but donating it to the public bank increases the likelihood that you will be able help someone in need!
If you haven't joined the bone marrow registry, please think about doing so this month in memory of Tyler. It is easy and you could give the gift of life to someone battling cancer! Go to the Be the Match for complete details!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Be the Match
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Donating cord blood is very simple, just ask your doctor beforehand, and they take care of it all. Some hospitals are now making it their standard practice. If you don't do anything, it gets thrown away so please, please simply ask the doctor about it and you will find out that it's a simple check box that has to be filled out by the doctor.
ReplyDelete