If you have been following me long enough, you would know that my sister, Tanya, is in remission after having Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma which she was diagnosed with last year. One thing you may not know is that one of the treatments for Lymphoma and other blood diseases such as Leukemia is a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully Tanya did not require a transplant but my cousin, Felipe, and our little friend Coco, did require a marrow transplant as part of their treatment.
Having said that, there are over 300 patients in PA alone that are in need of a marrow transplant who currently do not have a matched donor because only 70% of patients in need DO NOT have a match within their family. For the patients without a match, they turn to Be The Match registry. This is where your help is needed! If you are in relatively good health with no major diseases or disorders, you can join the registry for possible donation to a patient in need. This doesn't schedule your donation but put you on the list of potential donors. I signed up myself and I am happy that I did. To know that I can potentially help save a life is HUGE!
Their current goal is to diversify the registry. They are in desperate need of donors of a minority decent (Latino, African American, Native American, etc.). We are currently only a small set (~ 30%) of the registry population with many of the patients requiring our help.
To join the Be The Match registry, I filled out some personal information and took large q-tips given to me to swap sections of my mouth. That is it! How easy is that? If you are found to be a match then you will be able to proceed and donate your marrow at your will. The transplant may include an outpatient procedure so to make sure you are properly informed, HERE is some more information on the marrow transplant.
Please visit my team page. If you are determined to not be a qualified candidate or choose not to be on the registry, you can still help by making a donation to the registry as it takes $100 per person to be added to the registry. A donation of any amount is greatly appreciated.
Cannot donate monetarily? How about donating your time? Doing so helps bring awareness to this program and more potential donors which is even more important. As an example, you can donate your time by hosting a registry drive (think dinner parties, charity walks, church functions, family gatherings, etc.).
If you are interested in either joining the registry or would like to host a registry drive, please send an email to my team leader, Sarah Brooks Horan at sbrooks@nmdp.org.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to look into this!
Have a FABULOUS week, my friends!
Here is a FACT SHEET provided by Be The Match:
Media Fact Sheet
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