Becoming a donor is completing a registration form and putting four cotton swabs in your mouth. Registration is painless.
In terms of the actual donation, the short answer is: it depends. Ideas like comfort and pain tolerance are difficult to quantify/forecast, especially when it comes to medical procedures. It’s similar to asking someone, "does getting your wisdom teeth pulled hurt?" I know some people who had swollen gums for a week and I had a friend in high school who had his teeth pulled in the morning and was eating cafeteria pizza by lunch. This isn’t an attempt to avoid the question, but to address it realistically. Potential contributing factors include the specifics of the procedure and the physical condition of your body (are you well rested/hydrated/etc.).
It’s important to us that we convey exactly what you’re committing to, expectations, processes and risks included. Click here to learn more about PBSC and marrow donation.
While there is a very small (less than 2%) possibility of complications due to the procedure or the anesthesia used, we at Cheekswab believe it’s important to highlight two things:
- You receive a comprehensive health screening, at a licensed and experienced medical facility, before any and all procedures. These typically include a physical examination and blood work. It is not in the best interests of the NMDP to expose donors to dangerous circumstances given both liability concerns and future recruitment efforts. If at any point you or the doctors see signs that donating may not be a good idea, the donation is called off.
- The prospective discomfort of a marrow donation, which generally peaks at a day or two of lower-back soreness, pales in comparison to the gift of life you’re potentially giving to someone who has exhausted all other options. We say “potentially” because a patient’s body does not always physically accept a matched donation. In the case when the donation is accepted, the most important thing to remember is that not only is the life of the patient forever changed, but the lives of all those who love and care for that person are also changed.
Everybody is the most important in the world to somebody.
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An introduction to bone marrow and bone marrow transplants.
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Time, potential physical discomfort, and maybe a day or two off of work.
All other costs are covered by the NMDP, including transportation to/from medical consultations, lodging, and medical bills. A donor having or not having health insurance has no bearing on the process of donating marrow, as costs are covered by the NMDP.
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From the NMDP website: "On average, one in every 540 members of Be The Match Registry in the United States will go on to donate marrow to a patient. We cannot predict the likelihood that an individual member will donate because there is so much diversity in the population. However, if you are between the ages of 18 and 44, you are 10 times more likely to be called as a marrow donor than other members of the Be The Match Registry. That's because research shows cells from younger donors lead to more successful transplants."
Statistically it is overwhelmingly likely that if you register you will never receive a call to donate. In that regard, we consider joining the registry as joining the "lottery" to save someone's life.
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Absolutely. Being on the registry is completely voluntary. However, we ask that you do not join until you understand and agree with the commitment to avoid the likelihood of false-positive matches. Statistics say that less than 50% of minority matches within the registry agree to complete the donation. Please only join the registry under the assumption that you will complete the procedure. Bone marrow transplants are a life and death procedure for the person on the other end of the registry and the NMDP cannot afford to spend time and energy on false-positives.
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Read more about the matching process.
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Upon a successful transplant, donors can meet recipients pending mutual agreement and a one year waiting period from the transplant date.
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Once you have registered to be on the bone marrow registry you do not have to register again. To check your registration status, please call 1-800-MARROW-2 (1-800-827-7692).
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