It's For a Good Cause!

Today at lunch my office sponsored a bone marrow drive.  Although the drive was geared toward Asian students, I registered to be put in the National Bone Marrow data base.  Bone marrow is extremely hard to match, and there is only a 1 in 4 chance of matching it between siblings.  But sometimes strangers can match someone who needs it and even if it is a one in a million shot, it's totally worth it to save someone's life.* 

If you are not registered, I strongly urge you to do so, especially if you are Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, African American/Black, or Latino/Hispanic/Chicano, as the chance of a match improves greatly based on racial and ethnic heritage and there are very few registered donors in those backgrounds.  It's simple to register-- they ask you a few questions about your medical history, take a couple of cotton swabs of your mouth, and you're done!  It's as simple as that, and completely worth it if you know you can save someone suffering from immune system disorders, leukemia, and several other forms of cancer. 

Health Library - Bone Marrow- A CNN article that explains more about bone marrow.

Marrow.org - How you can become a donor.

-K.

*Course, now they have my DNA and so when I go on my crime spree, they'll be able to catch me. Damn!