Like some of you, I listen to Kidd Kraddick in the morning on my way to work. During their I have a dream segment/contest in Feburary, someone wrote in about how her cousin found out she had 4 days to live because of a rare form of cancer. She started treatment and was lucky enough to find a bone marrow donor quickly. The cousin wanted to connect her cousin Katie with the donor who saved her life, Thomas. Thomas lives in Germany and while the two had exchanged emails they had never talked on the phone or met. Kidd Kraddick in the morning flew Thomas to the US to meet Katie and her two young children. The show was obviously very emotional so much so that I was moved to sign up to become a potential donor.
I signed up at bethematch.org and they ask you some questions making sure you are healthy. Two weeks later you receive a kit in the mail to swab your cheek, you send it back and you are then added to the donor registry. The registry is international, so you could be a match for anyone in the world, just like Thomas (Germany) and Katie (US). Once you are in the registry you are contacted only if they find a match for your marrow. As a potential donor you can decline for whatever reason (pregnancy for women is an example). But if you do go through with your donation you literally save a life with mild inconvenience to yourself. You can also stay anonymous if you prefer.
We never really think about mine marrow transplants unless someone we know needs a transplant. I'm sure many people assume that if someone needs a transplant that someone in their family will be a match but unfortunately that is not always the case. For example, Katie's sister was not a match her. The choice to join the registry was easy for me because I thought about if my Mom needed a transplant and how I would feel if she didn't have a donor. I realized that I could potentially keep someone from losing a loved one. We take so much for granted while we are healthy. Why not pay it forward and potentially save a life when we are healthy?
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