USVI-On-Line

After reading about Luke's amazing sucess with his liver transplant, I wanted to forward this to all of you who might be interested in another type of donation - Bone Marrow. For the month of January, all costs associated with registering are covered by AMEX. Please consider it:

www.marrow.org

The more people who register, the better the chances are for a good match to be found and a person's life to be saved. The donor database is especially limited for people with ethnic backgrounds. It's a pretty straightforward process:

1) Answer a few questions to make sure you are eligible to donate (pretty consistent with blood donor requirements, but be sure to read them carefully)

2) Fill out the contact info (this is a long term database so there are a few more items required so they have a better chance of locating you if you move from your current location)

3) Request the kit. There is usually a $100 fee to cover the shipping and lab expenses but it is covered this month by a sponsor (AmEx)

4) Swab the inside of your mouth and send the kit back

This may be all you ever do but there may come a day where you are a match for someone and can save their life

Tracy, thanks for posting this.

I've been on the bone marrow registry donor list for at least 20 years ever since I saw a story on the evening news one night about a fellow who had been waiting for far too long for a donor. (It's a free service here in Canada & required a blood test at that time). I don't know what ever happened to the fellow portrayed in the story but I do hope he found a donor.

It used to be, here in BC, that on your birthday every year the Registry would send you a birthday card simply to remind you to keep your address etc up to date with them should they ever need to locate you.

Bone marrow registry, like organ donor registry, is something we never think about until we or someone we love is affected by it.

Second everything that Tracy said.

Those of you who recall the "first visit to St. John" thread will understand why this is so important to me. Long story short, my daughter had leukemia, sister donated bone marrow but was too close of a match to effectively fight the disease, daughter relapsed, we found an unrelated donor thru the registry, and next month she will celebrate her new "birthday" - three years in remission.

Matching bone marrow isn't like matching blood type. Being an unrelated match is maybe a million to one chance. So having as many people registered as possible is of utmost importance. Most of you would do most anything to save another's life, and being a bone marrow donor is literally saving a life. Please use Tracy's link and get on the list.

Thanks!

Thanks for this link Tracy! I was filling out the paperwork at our local mall to be a bone marrow donor a few years ago but the questionnaire left me a little nervous asking for my social security number and other personal information I wasn't willing to give out to some random guy at a mall. Awesome story GraysonDave! I wish your daughter continued good health!
I'm registering right now!