marrow doner

Back in april I signed up to be a bone marrow doner since I am not allowed to donate blood because I have severe anemia. I figured it was a good way to give back to the community. It is probably one of the best things anyone can do. Although the procedure for donating bone marrow is a bit painful, it helps so many people out in the process. Bone marrow is used to help many diseases including certain types of leukemia and lymphoma as well as sickle cell disease and other malignancies. It is estimated that every day in the united states 6000 people need a bone marrow transplant. Not many people are able to receive that transplant due to lack of proper donor matches. There are only approximately 11 million Americans who are signed up to be donors.

Bone marrow is found inside the bones of the hip, thigh and middle of the chest as well as other locations. There are two types of bone marrow: yellow and red. When a baby is born, all of its marrow is red. As the baby matures into an adult the marrow becomes yellow, leaving half the marrow in an adult body to be red. At the necessary times of increased blood cells, the body has the ability to convert yellow marrow back into red for that period. Bone marrow is a soft tissue that is generally fatty and when these cells mature they are released into the blood stream. If the cells are released prematurely this could be an issue.

There are two ways that a doctor takes bone marrow from a donor: 1. through a procedure known as a peripheral blood stem cell donation 2. through a needle inserted into the back of the hip bone to retrieve the marrow. When a person joins the registry they must do a donation kit where they fill out all their personal information as well as a health questionnaire. A donor must also complete a cheek swab. This is done to help determine the person's bone marrow type/blood. People can sign up to be bone marrow donors through the be the match registry. marrow.org. the registry is going on from now til June 22nd. make the choice to help save a life!!