do you know about bone marrow?

I just had my mind blown by modern science!

I've always wanted to be a bone marrow donor. I've been down for blood, plasma and organs for years, but was a bit scared of the marrow because it seemed like such a painful process... invasive and potentially very risky. Granted, it's been 2-3 years since my last looks into donation but, suddenly, it's become amazingly simple to donate bone marrow and help a fellow person in a huge way.

Bone marrow donation has become almost as simple as donating blood… doctors will give you injections of a medication [filgrastim (Neupogen)], for 4-5 days, to draw the blood stem cells out from your bone marrow and into your bloodstream. That way they can be easily filtered from your blood. Then a machine will remove blood from one arm, filter out the stem cells, and return it to the other arm. There are typically 2-4 sessions, each taking only 4-6 hours.

Think about it: give up a couple weekends of your life so that someone else can live!

There are some side effects to the medication, however, at the worst they add up to feeling like you have the flu while you’re on them.

I found these few facts from The Mayo Clinic and the National Bone Marrow Registry.


There is a donor drive in National City on October 13th, but you can also register from the comforts of your home!

-note: there is a one-time cost to registering for donation (~$50), yet they have sponsorship programs, or partial payment programs. Check it out!