Become my friend's hero...save a life...April 24-30

I just did it. I am totally white and it was free.

Edit: I just saw it is now free for everyone. Yay!

Thanks and bump!

Wee!

another bump.

The new code to register online APAMSA509 (This second drive runs through Monday, May 4). The old code has expired.

Become my friend’s Hero! Free Bone Marrow Donor Registration Online.

FREE registration FOR ALL:
http://www.dkmsamericas.org/category/marrow-donors/become-donor
DKMS asks for a monetary donation, but you do NOT need to make a monetary donation to register.

Thanks again!



My friend is an outstanding medical student who is battling leukemia for the second time, and she needs your help to save her life. At the age of 23, she was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). After two years of treatment, followed by a cord blood transplant, she came to the medical school to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. Unfortunately, during her first year as a medical student she was re-diagnosed with leukemia. She braved chemotherapy, and now she needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life. But out of the millions of registered bone marrow donors worldwide, she does not have a match. We are asking you to register because you could be Become Her Hero.

Please consider registering for the Be the Match Registry.

FREE registration FOR ALL:
http://www.dkmsamericas.org/category/marrow-donors/become-donor
DKMS asks for a monetary donation, but you do NOT need to make a monetary donation to register. By joining the Registry, you give hope to patients everywhere with leukemia, lymphoma and a variety of other diseases. When you register as a bone marrow donor, you join a global movement of more than 12 million donors who stand ready to give someone a future. You may never be called upon to donate, but if you are, you and perhaps only you will have the power to save a life.

My friend is half African American and half caucasian, making her a molecular minority because her bone marrow is difficult to match. A match for her is likely to also be of mixed heritage. Minority and mixed heritage donors are underrepresented in the Registry and very much needed. That being said, we encourage everyone to sign up to offer hope to all those looking for donors.

Registering is simple and takes as little as five minutes, and our online drive will allow you to register for free. You will be asked to fill out a basic form with your contact information and medical history (which remains protected), and then you will swab the insides of your cheeks with a kit that is mailed to your home. No blood draw is required. Your saliva is all that is needed to register. Five minutes of your time today could mean a lifetime for someone like my friend.

Thank you,
Family and Friends


Become My Friend’s Hero!

FREE registration FOR ALL:
http://www.dkmsamericas.org/category/marrow-donors/become-donor
DKMS asks for a monetary donation, but you do NOT need to make a monetary donation to register.


Additional ways you can help

Share this story with your friends and family, especially those of minority background as the Registry is actively seeking more minority members. With a few e-mail and phone calls, you can get the word out about the importance of registering. They could be my friend’s match. And save her life.

Find a drive near you at http://marrow.org/JOIN/Join_in_Person/index.html


Myths and Facts about Bone Marrow Donation

MYTH: The bone marrow donation procedure is painful.
FACT: General or regional anesthesia is always used for this procedure. Donors feel no needle injections and no pain during marrow donation.

MYTH: All bone marrow donations involve surgery.
FACT: The majority of donations do not involve surgery. The patient's doctor most commonly requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is non-surgical and does not require a stay in the hospital. If marrow is requested, it is a surgical procedure, but there is still usually no stay in the hospital.

MYTH: Pieces of bone are removed from the donor.
FACT: Pieces of bone are not removed from the donor in either type of donation. A PBSC donation involves taking the drug filgrastim for five days leading up to donation in order to increase the donor's needed blood-forming cells. On the fifth day, blood is taken from the donor through one arm, passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells, and returned through the donor's other arm. In marrow donation, no pieces of bone are taken; only the liquid marrow found inside the bones is needed to save the patient's life.

MYTH: Donating bone marrow is dangerous and weakens the donor.
FACT: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely any long-term effects from donating. Only five percent or less of a donor's marrow is needed to save a life. After donation, the body replaces the donated marrow within four to six weeks. The NMDP screens all donors carefully to ensure they are healthy and that the procedure is safe. The NMDP also educates donors, answers questions at every step, and follows up after donation.

MYTH: Donors have to pay for the donation procedure.
FACT: Donors never pay for donating. All medical costs are paid by the patient's medical insurance or by the patient, sometimes with NMDP assistance. The NMDP reimburses donors for travel costs, and may reimburse other costs on a case-by-case basis.
(from www.marrow.org)

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Become Her Hero is a community of this girl’s family and friends searching for her bone marrow donor match. We love her, and we need your help to save her life and those of many others in need of a bone marrow match.

Excellent!

It should come pretty quickly...mine did!

Also, for anyone just joining the thread...a couple posts above I put a link where anyone can register for free still

I just wanted to let you all know she found a match and got a transplant! Because of the drive another person I know ended up donating for someone else, too

Fingers crossed for a sustained recovery