11 Facts About Bone Marrow Donation

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1. Each year, leukemia kills more children than any other cancer.^[National Resource Defense Council. “Children, Cancer and the Environment”. http://www.nrdc.org/health/kids/kidscancer/kidscancer5.asp. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]
2. 70% of patients in need of a marrow transplant do not have a matching donor in their family.^[National Marrow Donor Program. “Key Messages, Facts and Figures”. http://bethematch.org/news/facts-and-figures--pdf-/. January 2013 (Accessed Nov 11th, 2014).]
3. A bone marrow transplant can save the life of someone battling leukemia, lymphoma, or another blood cancer. You can fight cancer just by swabbing your cheek. Sign up for Give a Spit About Cancer.^[National Marrow Donor Program. “Key Messages, Facts and Figures”. http://bethematch.org/news/facts-and-figures--pdf-/. January 2013 (Accessed Nov 11th, 2014).]
4. To register as a bone marrow donor, a person swabs the inside of his or her cheek in order to provide the DNA needed to identify if he or she is a bone marrow match for someone.^[Be the Match. “Donation FAQ’s”. http://bethematch.org/Support-the-Cause/Donate-bone-marrow/Donation-FAQs/. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]
5. The likelihood of finding a donor is estimated at 66% for African-American patients, 72% for Hispanics or Latinos, 73% for Asian and Pacific Islanders, 82% for American Indian and Alaska Natives, and 93% for white patients.^[National Marrow Donor Program. “Key Messages, Facts and Figures”. http://bethematch.org/news/facts-and-figures--pdf-/. January 2013 (Accessed Nov 11th, 2014).]
6. A bone marrow donation happens in one of two ways: In the first, blood is from a donor's arm, put in a machine where stem cells are separated, and returned through the other arm. In the other, marrow cells extracted from the hip bone.^[marrowdrives.org. “Myths about Marrow/Stem Cell Donation”. http://marrowdrives.org/bone_marrow_donor_myths_faqs.html. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]
7. After donation, bone marrow replaces itself within four to six weeks.^[The Andy Talley Bone Marrow Foundation. “Facts and Resources”. http://www.talleybonemarrow.org/bone-marrow-registry-bone-marrow-facts-philadelphia-new-york-boston-washington-baltimore.php. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]
8. To be a bone marrow donor in America, a person should be between 18 and 60 years old and in good health.^[Be the Match. “Why a donor’s age matters”. http://bethematch.org/transplant-basics/matching-patients-with-donors/why-donor-age-matters/. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]
9. Donors giving from their hip bones are put under anesthesia, and therefore they do not feel pain during the collection procedure.^[Delete Blood Cancer. “Donor Handbook”. http://www.deletebloodcancer.org/sites/deletebloodcancer.org/files/donor_handbook.pdf. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]
10. Young people 18 to 25 years old are the bone marrow donors needed most.^[Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. “The Urgent Need for Younger Donors”. http://www.giftoflife.org/Pages/The-Urgent-Need-for-Younger-Donors.aspx. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]
11. After being placed on the registry, you may be contacted in a matter of months, or not for many years, or not at all.^[Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. “About Marrow and Stem Cell Donation”. http://www.giftoflife.org/Pages/About-Marrow-and-Stem-Cell-Donation.aspx. Accessed Nov 11th, 2014.]