Rub a Q-Tip in Your Mouth; Save a Life

[jedifreac]

There's something about becoming a bone marrow donor that scares people. I think that has to be it. Because only 5% of Americans are registered, and I'd like to believe the reason is because they are scared and not because say, they couldn't be bothered

Comments

[xkyrie_eleisonx]

It's a shame, I only met her once but James is very happy with her. I hope she finds her match.

I've now known 3 young people that have gone through cancer treatments! Luckily both beat it, hopefully Janet will too. You just don't think stuff like that is going to happen to you or someone you know. :(

[downthemoon]

This really made me cry, partly because of the personal story aspect, but mostly out of guilt. I guess I never keep up with these kinds of medical miracles, because I was still under the impression that I needed to go through surgery to donate marrow.

Question though before I register: I don't donate blood because I'm borderline anemic. (..It also doesn't help that I'm a total chicken when it comes to blood work.) Do you think it's safe to register for this blood taking procedure despite the complications I have with regular blood donation? I'll definitely share this information with people I know, though.

Thank you for breaking the misconception, Mistress Medical Guru. <3

[downthemoon]

I think the majority of donations are done through the new procedure which is just taking drugs that make you make bone marrow cells up the wazoo,and then filtering it out of the blood (and putting the rest of the blood back!) Maybe 30% of donations are still done through traditional surgery, though

[downthemoon]

It's a mix of iron deficiency/poor metabolizing leading to hemoglobin issues, and my red blood cells aren't of an abnormally small size, but they're on the lower end of the spectrum. My red blood cell count is fine, platelet count is actually rather high, but I always have to be careful about my iron intake and diet or I'm screwed

[jedifreac]

With the back pain thing I think they're mostly worried about people who have had a history of bone problems because when it's a surgical donation, they open up the bone to take the marrow out.

It's okay if you're not Asian American! According to the Wall Street Journal, "Victoria Namkung, a Los Angeles writer of Irish, Jewish and Korean origins, who signed up as a donor several years ago, was surprised to learn that she was the match for a Mexican-American man in Ft. Myers, Fla."

If you are of Caucasian descent the likelihood of your finding a marrow match is 80% If you are of minority descent your likelhood of finding a match (all minorities as a group) is less then 20%.

Have you heard of http://www.giftoflife.org/ ? They're a group dedicated to recruiting Jewish American people to register as potential donors.

There's also Ezer Mizion which is an international registry for people of Jewish descent. Ezer Mizion actually cut a deal with the Israel Defence Forces,