I joined the national marrow registry in 1995 while at Fort Benning doing Army stuff. Donated in 1997 to a girl with leukemia. They did the procedure where they drilled into my iliac (sp?) crust.
It hurt like hell for 12 hours and then I walked around Washington DC with a rucksack and gear to see our nation's capital. At the time it was a specialized process that Georgetown University was doing.
I matched again in 1998, but this time it was not a close enough match.
I cannot emphasize enough how seriously I would go back right now and do this all over again, even once a month if I had to. You're saving a life.
Statistically everyone has plenty of matches, but the problem is that your blood has to be in the registry so they can test and know. Join the registry, if not for the life you save then the wonderful happiness it will bring for helping a fellow human.
Mehrzad - friend - I do hope you find a match. I'll be thinking about you.
Tech advances mean that bone marrow aspirates are no longer necessary most of the time, they can take a regular blood donation from a vein and then extract the desired cells from that in the majority of cases today
I had the wonderful opportunity to donate this way earlier this month. It was totally painless (modulo a couple of needle pricks) and just required some time hooked up to the machine (~6 hours) and a course of drugs beforehand to boost stem cell production for a few days.
For the benefit it can bring someone it is a total no-brainer decision, and I'd do it again without a second's hesitation if necessary.
It hurt like hell for 12 hours and then I walked around Washington DC with a rucksack and gear to see our nation's capital. At the time it was a specialized process that Georgetown University was doing.
I matched again in 1998, but this time it was not a close enough match.
I cannot emphasize enough how seriously I would go back right now and do this all over again, even once a month if I had to. You're saving a life.
Statistically everyone has plenty of matches, but the problem is that your blood has to be in the registry so they can test and know. Join the registry, if not for the life you save then the wonderful happiness it will bring for helping a fellow human.
Mehrzad - friend - I do hope you find a match. I'll be thinking about you.