August 22, 2008

Join the National Marrow Donor Program Registry and save lives

Each day, 6,000 people with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases search the National Marrow Donor Program (NM-DP) Registry seeking a match that could save their life. The more people in the registry, the greater the chance of finding someone who can help. Donors with diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds are especially needed.

You can join the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP) at the Sikh Gurdwara temple (address above). Joining can take as little as 15 minutes and it’s easy … you’ll simply be asked to give a swab of your cheek cells so your tissue type can be identified.

1. Meet the age (18-60 yrs), health and weight requirements, and be willing to help any patient in need.

2. Complete a registration form with contact information, health history questions, and a signed agreement to join the Registry. Bring the names, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and e-mail address of two family members or friends who do not live with you. The NMDP will contact these people only if you are identified as a potential match for a patient and we cannot reach you.

3. Give a swab of your cheek cells so your tissue type can be identified.

If You are a Match
The majority of donations do not involve surgery. There are two procedures: donating peripheral blood stem cells or donating bone marrow.

Most requests are for peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC), which is non-surgical and outpatient. If bone marrow is requested, it is a minor surgical procedure, usually outpatient.

More Info
Complete details about becoming a donor are available at www.marrow.org.