It Takes More than Blood to Save a Life
FAQ – Marrow Donation
What are the eligibility requirements and how do I join?
Anyone age 18 to 60 who is willing to donate to any patient in need and meets the health guidelines can join. Registrants simply fill out a health history and consent form and provide a small sample of cells through a cheek swab. Call 303.363.2345 or 800.619.1099 for more information.
Is there a cost to join the Be The Match Registry®?
No, however, in order to continue our lifesaving work we need financial contributions. Gifts made to CMDP help cover the cost of adding potential donors to the Be The Match Registry®. The total cost to add a new member to the Be The Match Registry® is about $100. This includes the initial tissue typing test needed to match donors to searching patients and other related costs.
Do I have to pay to donate?
Donors never pay to donate. All medical costs are covered by the patient’s medical insurance, sometimes with National Marrow Donor Program assistance.
What is my commitment if I join?
When you join the Be The Match Registry ®, you make a commitment to:
- Be listed on the registry until your 61st birthday, unless you ask to be removed
- Consider donating to any searching patient who matches you
- Keep CMDP updated if your address changes, you have significant health changes or you change your mind about being a donor
- Respond quickly if you are contacted as a potential match for a patient.
Why is there a need for more people to join registry?
More donors are continually needed to help patients find an unrelated match because 70 percent of patients do not have a donor in their family.
Does race or ethnicity affect matching?
Yes. Ethnicity is crucial when matching patients with donors. Since tissue type is inherited, patients from diverse ethnic backgrounds are less likely to find a matching donor because minority donors are severely underrepresented on the registry. Today, there simply aren’t enough registry members of diverse racial and ethnic heritage. Adding more diverse members increases the likelihood that all patients will find a life-saving match.
How else can I help?
Make a financial contribution to allow others to join the registry in the future or host a marrow drive at your business, school or faith-based organization. Call 303.363.2345 or 800.619.1099 for details.
Inspirational Donor and Patient Stories
Bonnie Hall
“I simply would not be here to watch my nephews grow, to drink in the sunrise or to enjoy an evening with family and friends without blood and marrow donors. Thank you.” – Bonnie
Click here to read more about Bonnie
David Collinson
“I live every day in appreciation of the life-saving gifts that I received from total strangers.” – David
Click here to read more about David
Monica Kosanovich
“I was raised by fantastic parents who taught me ‘to those much is given, much is expected’ so I try to live my life helping others where I can, just as seven others helped me.” – Monica
Click here to read more about Monica
Denise Camacho and Enrique Linares Jr.
In January 2009, Enrique Linares Jr. travelled to Denver along with his family for a very special introduction. He was preparing to meet the young woman who helped save his life — Denise Camacho.
Click here to read more about Denise
Financial Gifts Save Lives
The total cost to add a new member to the Be The Match Registry® is about $100. This includes the initial tissue typing test needed to match donors to searching patients and other related costs. Others have contributed toward the costs so funds are currently available so people can join today, however we ask each potential donor along with other individuals, organizations and foundations to make a tax-deductable monetary gift to ensure financial resources are available to cover costs of registering future marrow donors eager to help patients in need of a life-saving marrow transplant. CMDP must raise $71,000 this year to assure that its work continues. Your charitable gift will allow us to help prospective donors save a life.
You can also contribute by participating in a flavorsome fundraising event Mondays in April. The Copper Pot restaurant is donating 10 percent of all food and wines sales to CMDP Monday evenings from 4 to 9 p.m. to help those whose lives have been affected by blood cancer.
Day 4 Life
Be someone’s hero. Join Bonfils’ Colorado Marrow Donor Program and CBS4 on Friday, April 29 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at select Safeway locations to join the Be The Match Registry®.
Safeway
6220 East 14th Ave.
Denver, CO 80220
(near 14th and Krameria St.)
Safeway
181 W. Mineral Ave.
Littleton, CO 80120
(near Broadway and Mineral)
Safeway
771 Thornton Pkwy
Thornton, CO 80229
(near Thornton Parkway and Washington Street)
Contact Bonfils’ CMDP at 303.363.2345 or visit www.marrow.org for more information.
Can’t make the event? Look for upcoming marrow drives, visit a Bonfils community donor center in your area or make a financial gift.
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Myth Busters
MYTH: All marrow donations involve surgery.
FACT: The majority of procedures do not involve surgery and are much like making a blood donation. Today, the patient’s doctor most often requests a peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation, which is similar to making a blood donation. The second way of donating is marrow donation, which is a surgical procedure. In each case, donors typically go home the same day they donate.
MYTH: Donating marrow is painful and involves a long recovery.
FACT: There can be uncomfortable but short-lived side effects of making a PBSC donation. PBSC donors may have headaches, joint or muscle aches or fatigue after the donation but are typically back to their normal routine in one to two days. Those donating marrow receive general or regional anesthesia, so they feel no pain during donation. Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for one to two weeks afterward. Most marrow donors are back to their normal activities in two to seven days.
MYTH: Donating is dangerous and weakens the donor.
FACT: Though no medical procedure is without risk, there are rarely long-term side effects. If you are a potential match, Bonfils’ Colorado Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) will contact you to undergo further testing to determine if you are a true match. If it is determined that you are a true match, you will undergo a physical examination to ensure you are healthy enough to give. Only a small amount of a donor’s marrow is needed to save the patient’s life, the donor’s immune system stays strong and the cells replace themselves within a few weeks.
MYTH: There are plenty of ethnically diverse donors on the registry to help patients in need of a match.
FACT: More donors are always needed particularly donors of a racially or ethnically diverse heritage. Patients are most likely to match donors of their same race and ethnicity yet only 1.8 of the 9 million people on the registry are ethnic minorities.
