Skip to main content

Be The Match

Buccal Swab Kit
Last week I joined the Be The Match Registry, the National Marrow Donor Program, and today I received my swab kit for tissue typing.  The Registry was brought to my attention a week or so ago when updates about a Be The Match Drive were popping up in my Facebook news feed from people in my hometown.  I investigated this a little further and found out that if you are interested in joining the registry to be a potential donor, but aren't available to attend a drive, you can simply apply online at www.bethematch.org and they will send a kit to you in the mail.  

There are a few guidelines to be a member of the registry:
  • you have to be between the ages of 18 and 60
  • you must be willing to donate to any patient in need
  • you are required to meet the health guidelines as outlined on their website.
Once you receive your kit, as I did today, you simply swab your inner cheek with four separate cotton swabs to give a sample of your cheek cells and then return the kit for processing.  The results of the typing will help match you, a potential donor, with patients in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant.  

I hope everyone who takes the time to read this will take the time to consider joining this registry, or at least go to their website and share this information with others in hopes that maybe they will join the registry.  It's pretty amazing, when you stop and think about it, that such a small task of joining a registry, donating blood or simply signing the donor card when you renew your Driver's License can have such a powerful outcome of potentially saving another person's life.  Be The Match.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alas, Mexi Rolls

Could it get any better than this? Maybe, but not likely.  What are the odds that this small town in Wyoming, that we now proudly call home, has a Taco John's ?  Now, not everyone here has the same respect for the Potato Ole's, cheese dip, Pizza burger and Mexi Rolls that I do, mainly people that are from Texas and just don't understand the concept of Mexican fast food. However, all my Murray, Kentucky peeps who grew up with that six pack and a pound know where I'm coming from when I say Taco John's is on my "have to eat at list" every year when we travel back home.  And though we may not admit it, we all secretly get a little rage of jealousy when we read on Facebook about someone's trip home and they have 'checked in' at Taco John's. Or what about when somebody is on a road trip and they post that they have stumbled upon a Taco John's and they are now enjoying something out of that brown paper bag and then us folks that live in Taco
4 comments
Read more

dirty feet

"Left foot, left foot, right foot, right...." d irty feet is more like it! how in the world can one little boy's feet get this dirty? and the funny thing is, he is soooo proud of them! b oys! d irty feet, pockets full of rocks, jars filled with worms.... everyday is an adventure around here. i couldn't imagine it any other way.
2 comments
Read more

Superbowl Party XLVI

With the Superbowl only days away, and more than 100 million people gathering to watch the big event in their homes, my goal is to make your bash the party to remember.  The number one thing the Superbowl does is bring people together (which could be both a bad and good thing), so fire up the grill and break out the hot wings and cheese dip folks because it's time for some football! According to an article I was reading in a Billings Gazette  insert, there are some rules that you can follow to ensure your party-goers have a foolproof time. FOUR RULES FOR A FOOLPROOF TIME: 1.   Give guests a choice of party zones.   Who says you only have to have one viewing area?  Have more than one TV set up and tuned into the game.  One can be used for those die hard football fanatics who want to see every play and call of the game and the other for the chatters and snackers.  A basement or a media room would be perfect for the die hard fans and then a TV in the kitchen/dining or living spac
2 comments
Read more