Have you registered to be a bone marrow donor?  It only takes a few minutes, and if you’re ever a match for a patient in need of a bone marrow transplant you’d be able to save a life—the life of somebody’s child, somebody’s parent, somebody’s sibling.

I have to admit that until today I hadn’t registered to donate bone marrow. Although I give blood regularly, give money to charity, and generally pat myself on the back for being nice person I’ve always been wary of registering as a bone marrow donor. I think I’d heard decades ago that bone marrow donation was complicated and painful, so I’ve never quite gotten around to registering . . .

But I finally registered, because somebody got in touch with me about a little girl named Kate Boggan, who is only 10 months old and probably won’t make it past toddlerhood if she doesn’t receive a bone marrow transplant. Kate suffers from a very rare genetic disorder that prevents her body from properly creating bone marrow, critically disabling her immune system. If her doctors can find a bone marrow donor with a nearly identical genetic makeup, Kate can have a bone marrow transplant that will save her life. But as of now, no donor has been found. (You can read more about Kate Boggan on her mom Lindsey’s blog).

After hearing this little girl’s heartbreaking story, I realized that I didn’t know nearly as much as I should about bone marrow donation, so I asked Katharina Harf, COO of a bone marrow registry called DKMS Americas, to fill me in. The quest to register donors is a very personal one for Harf, because at age 14 she lost her mother to leukemia, a death that could have been prevented if a matching donor had been found.

Katharina Harf: Not at all, we will send you a kit in the mail that contains a cheek swab, which you just swipe across the inside of your cheek and mail back to us.  Visit the website and fill out a form, and we’ll send you the kit.

KH: You will be listed in a national registry as a “hero in waiting” and if you are a genetic match with somebody who needs a bone marrow transplant we will get in touch with you.

KH: Not necessarily. Usually a sibling is the only family member who would be a match, there’s about a 25-30% chance that a sibling can donate. But if there isn’t a sibling match then we have to look for an unrelated donor.

KH: Not at all, many people don’t realize that 70-80% of the time the needed cells can be collected from the bloodstream, so it’s a non-surgical procedure similar to donating platelets. {This is called Peripheral Blood Stem Cell donation, and involves taking a drug called filgrastim for a few days prior to donation, then spending about 4-5 hours in the chair while donating.}

The rest of the time marrow cells are collected from the back of the pelvic bone using a hollow needle. That usually requires general anesthesia, but it is still an outpatient procedure. There might be a little bruising afterward, and some pain, but it would never be happening if it wasn’t extremely safe. {According to the Mayo Clinic, the only serious risks associated with bone marrow donation are the same ones that go along with any use of general anesthesia.}

KH: You have to be between 18 and 55 to register, and then you will stay registered until your 61^st birthday. Donors must be in generally good health and go through an extensive physical exam as well. {Details about who is eligible here.}

KH: No, you can have the donation procedure done in the nearest hospital. You won’t know who the patient is, and by law in the United States you can’t meet him or her until one year after donating. There are no costs whatsoever to the donor.

So, I just registered at to have a kit sent to me, and (if you’re 55 or younger) I hope you will too. 

If you have donated bone marrow, received a bone marrow donation, or have a family member who has been a donor or recipient, please, please share your story in the comments section below!  I’m sure that hearing about your experience will encourage others to register. 

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