Be A Bone Marrow Donor Today and Save A Life

There are many ways you can help save others, and being a bone marrow donor is one of those ways.

So what is bone marrow? How can we use bone marrow to help save a life? According to Medline Plus, bone marrow is the material that is inside your bones. It contains a multitude of stem cells that will eventually become blood cells.

We can use bone marrow from a donor and transplant the stem cells to the patient, called allogenic bone marrow transplant. The other transplant, which will not be the main focus of this post, is called autologous bone marrow transplant. This procedure is for the patient to donate healthy stem cells from one site, to the area that needs those cells.

The procedure for harvesting these stem cells from the bone marrow is pretty simple. The doctor puts the person under anesthesia, and inserts a needle in the hip bone, to extract the bone marrow. Watch the video below to see what bone marrow extraction looks like.

Bone Marrow Extraction*

Video by: MetroMD

*Note that the procedure done in the video is for an autologous bone marrow transplant, which moves healthy stem cells to the affected area, within the same person. The procedure for harvesting bone marrow for others who need the bone marrow transplant, is also the same.

Although the procedure for harvesting bone marrow is a simple matter, the hard part for this procedure, is finding a match between patient and donor because of the many factors that doctors need to consider. This is why bone marrow transplants for people who need the procedure, is not easy. It can take months, or even longer, to find an exact match. Sometimes, the person won't even be able to find a match.

According to the Institute for Justice, more than 130,000 Americans will be diagnosed with a blood disorder, such as leukemia, that only a bone marrow transplant can help save. The majority of people who need a bone marrow transplant have to go to the national registry to find a match, which can take a lengthy amount of time.
Not only that, according to the statistics that is provided on the website:

 African-American patients find a match only 25 % of the time,

Asians 40%,

Hispanics 45%,

and Caucasians 70% of the time.

The need for more people of different racial backgrounds to sign up and be a bone marrow donor is crucial. Without you, people who suffer from these diseases will die.

Please take the time and sign up today. Click here to be a bone marrow donor and help save a life. You can also read stories of others who were saved because of bone marrow transplants.

Being a bone marrow donor can help change so many people's lives. Do you know someone who is a bone marrow donor, or have gotten a bone marrow transplant? Leave a comment below, and please, share your stories.