BONE MARROW DONOR REGISTRATION:
IT TAKES 20 MINUTES
AND YOU COULD SAVE A LIFE!
If you are between 18 and 44 years old, you can register as a potential bone marrow donor during Day of
Giving this year. You may be asked if you would like to contribute to the $100 cost of analyzing the
cheek swabs, but contributions are completely voluntary. (Those between 44 and 60 need to register
online and pay $100)
Here’s all you have to do:
-Fill out a confidential health questionnaire
You will give your contact information, including employer address, spouse information, if
applicable, and name and address, and phone number of two people who will know how
to reach you in future years.
You will answer questions about your ethnicity. Patients are most likely to find a donor
from someone with the same ethnic background because a tissue type is inherited. This
information will help select donors for deeper HLA testing as the search for a perfectly
matched donor moves forward. (Note: This is the reason it is extremely important to
have donors of all ethnicities and mixed ethnicities in the registry!)
You will provide information about your height, weight, age, medical history, and
medications. See the attached health screening flyer to determine if you have a medical
history which may disqualify you from being a bone marrow donor.
-Do four check swabs
You will do four cheek swabs, top and bottom, left and right between the cheek and the
gum. These swabs will go in a coded envelope and will be sent to the National Marrow
Program lab to be tested for HLA antigens.
The information on the HLA antigens in your body will be entered into a secure computer,
where you will be identified by a code number. When a patient needs a bone marrow
transplant, doctors will enter that patient’s HLA information into the computer system to
see if anyone that patient’s perfect match has registered.
That’s it! You will receive your donor card within a few weeks and will remain on the registry until you
‘age out’ at 60.