How to donate bone marrow to save a life?
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I saw a little girl on TV who needs a bone marrow transplant. She is black/mixed race, therefore it is very difficult to find a match. I'll admit I'm a chicken when it comes to this sort of thing, but if it's not a painful or risky procedure for me I would be willing to donate.
It breaks my heart to see this little girl so ill when I could potentially be a match. Have you, or do you know someone who has done this? If so, how painful is it and what would be the risks to me as a middle-aged donor?
Answer:
Its only painful if you have to DONATE the marrow. First they check to see if you are a MATCH which is a now cheek swab- no needles- its so easy!
Then if you are a match, they will do further testing to see. If it comes to actually donating marrow, its more complicated and can be painful but not that bad- totally managed with pain meds.
To find a way to register with the national bone marrow registry near you go, here:
http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Donor_Registry/Join_in_Person/index.html
Speaking as a mother of a little boy whose life was saved by someone willing to do this, PLEASE register. you may not be a match for this little girl, but you could be for someone else some day.