The National (U.S.) Marrow Donor Program

[taxlady]

Copied from kino_kid.

The National Marrow Donor Program has finally included the details of free registration.

During the Thanks Mom campaign, costs to join the Registry online or at a bone marrow drive are paid for by generous partners and contributors so that it is

>>FREE FOR THE FIRST 46,000 WHO JOIN THE REGISTRY.<<

>>THIS INCLUDES THE FIRST 10,000 WHO JOIN ONLINE.<<

In the US, you get the inside of your cheek swabbed. You get a kit at home or you go to a bone marrow drive.

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>>THE FACT IS<<

>>70% of the people who need a bone marrow transplant will need an unrelated donor

>>Many people will not find their match, so more people are needed

>>The most likely match the same or similar ethnicity

>>There is a SEVERE SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY on the registries worldwide. It is very hard to match someone who is African Caribbean.

>>49% of the matches in the US involve an INTERNATIONAL DONOR OR RECIPIENT, including recipients in countries where there are no registries, which includes all of the Caribbean.

>> THIS IS A LIFE-SAVING PROCEDURE that is low-risk, not time-consuming, and not done at a cost to the donor.

There are a lot of myths surrounding donation. The facts may surprise you. If you want to know more about the two types of donation:
click here

The few people who donated twice, have said they had NO PROBLEM agreeing to DO IT AGAIN.

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The event begins tomorrow, Monday May 4 and continues until May 19. Thank you for telling your friends and family.

You never know when someone you know will need this gift in their lives: click here

edited to add a link to the Thanks Mom campaign.

Comments

[mousme.livejournal.com]

You can't register for free in the U.S.? The mind boggles. Hardly an incentive to donate, is it?

Off to repost in my LJ. I really need to load myself an icon for this... too bad I'm only ever on LJ at work. :P

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Crap. I can't link the videos here, work won't let me. It'll have to wait until I'm home. :P

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

Yup, it really does boggle the mind that they charge people for the test kit to register. I think it costs $55.-

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Jaysus! Hail Social Medicine!

[(Anonymous)]

I went to a bone marrow drive. It was free. All you have to do is call your local Red Cross and they'll test you for free.