Join the Club!

After patiently checking our mailbox for the last few weeks I finally got notice that I am officially in the National Marrow Donor Program!  Woohoo!  The hubs actually got his notice in the mail quite a while ago, so I guess my cheek cells were just way more interesting than his or something and that's why mine took longer.  Or something like that anyway.

It's pretty exciting to be listed in the registry.  At any time Thomas or I could be contacted and asked to make good on our promise to donate if we're identified as a potential bone marrow match for someone.  It could be next week, next year or even many years from now since you stay on the registry until you're 61 years old.  Every day doctors search the registry for patients in need of a bone marrow transplant to save their lives.  Every day holds the possibility to give someone new life.  And knowing that gives that much more meaning to my own life every day.

Interested in learning more or joining the amazing program yourself?

Check out the official website here.


Read about how the hubs and I joined the registry here and here.  It's so easy and so worth it!

Linking up with...

Swab the Other Cheek

Look what came in the mail!

This arrived just a few short days after signing up to be a bone marrow donor (read about it here!).  Inside there's information about joining the Bone Marrow Registry along with the tissue-typing kit.  Which is a fancy name for some big ole q-tips to swab the inside of your cheeks.

You use one of four cotton tipped applicators to swab each corner of the inside of your mouth (top and bottom of the left and right sides) for ten seconds.

Apply a sticker to each of the swabs and put it in the packet.

Then use the postage paid envelope to mail it back.

And we're done!  It only took us about five minutes to complete from start to finish - how easy is that?!

It will take about five to six weeks for them to process our samples and get us into the registry so they can start checking if we're matches for anyone.  A few weeks, months or even years from now we could be contacted if we are potential matches for a patient needing a marrow transplant.

Now I know what you're thinking: "Sure, signing up is super easy, but what if I'm chosen as a donor?"  Good news!  Bone marrow donation is a relatively simple outpatient procedure.  First a follow up sample is checked to confirm the match.  This sample is either another cheek swab or a simple blood sample.  If the match looks good you continue on with the process.  The gist of it is that you either get general or local anesthesia and a surgeon will make one to four very small incisions near your pelvic bone and then use a hollow needle to draw out some marrow.  You usually get to go home by the end of the day and should be feeling back to normal within a few days or weeks.  The most common side effects include lower back pain, fatigue and stiffness while walking.   It's a small price to pay for potentially saving a life, in my opinion.  And for the sake of full disclosure, I am super not a fan of needles and the like (oh the stories my mom can tell of taking me to the doctor as a child); so if I can buck up and sign up so can you!

So go check out http://www.marrow.org/ and see if joining the registry is for you and tell me about your experience!

Give a Little

A few weeks ago I was watching MTV (don't judge!) when a new episode of True Life came on.  The subject was people who needed transplants and I was intrigued.  The episode was extremely emotional (watch it for yourself here and read more about it on MTV's blog here) but absolutely worth watching.

I was particularly touched by the story of Craig, who was undergoing a bone marrow transplant to treat cancer.  His story hit close to home for me.  Just months before I was born, one of my uncles passed away from Aplastic Anemia that may have been treatable with a bone marrow transplant when he was only 19 years old.  Being that this was way back in 1983, only immediate family members were tested for bone marrow matches and unfortunately there wasn't a match in the family.  So I've long tossed around the idea of becoming a bone marrow donor, but hadn't done the legwork of researching it and signing up.  This episode was just the kick in the pants that I needed to make this idea a reality.

Once I visited the National Marrow Donor Program's website I realized just how easy it is to become a donor (and even donation itself doesn't sound like too much of an ordeal).  First, answer a simple questionnaire to make sure you qualify.  I was thrilled when I found out that I do qualify since I am not able to donate blood due to travel restrictions.  Then fill out some basic information and they will mail you a kit to swab your cheek so your sample can be entered in the registry to look for matches.  They do ask for a donation since it costs around $100 for the organization to add each new sample to the registry, but it is optional, tax deductible, and you can choose the amount you give.  It was important to me to make the donation to join the registry.  But if you are unable to donate or choose not to, join anyway because I think getting more people in the registry is the most important thing.

Our kits should be arriving in about a week and we're super excited for them to arrive.  I'll keep you posted on how joining the registry goes, but in the meantime I think you should head on over to http://www.marrow.org/ and check it all out for yourself!