# A health reminder for those of mixed race ancestry: tissue donation\* **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 11, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526 "2008-06-11T02:26:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/21 "2008-06-13T14:33:36Z")
**Spiff,** thank you. And **Stickler,** thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Pixilated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aeb1de/32.png) [@Pixilated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixilated)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/22 "2008-06-13T15:25:37Z")
hmmmmmm, i wonder if my [new] employer would do the test for free since they are a hospital? I would get one for myself & kids but holy cow that would be too much out of pocket for me right now. I dont ever hear of any drives in this area. sidenote: I learned about the medical challenges associated with mixed races when doing research on “The Order” back in the late 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/23 "2008-06-13T15:50:13Z")
Years ago there was a drive for Minesota Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew’s daughter, who was of Carribean and Jewish decent. Sadly,no match was found, but the drive signed up thousands of volunteers (I was one), and IIRC I heard a while back that the drive has resulted in several successful matches. So some good did come out of a tragic story. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/24 "2008-06-13T15:57:24Z")
Do the same deferrals that apply to blood donation apply to organ/tissue donation? I have mad cow disease ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Aangelica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Aangelica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aangelica)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/25 "2008-06-13T17:50:29Z")
I am precluded from registering on medical grounds,\* sadly, but it’s something everyone should do if they can. \*Same ones that preclude me from donating blood, actually. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/26 "2008-06-13T17:59:40Z")
Here’s the page of restrictions [http://marrow.org/HELP/Join\_the\_Donor\_Registry/Med\_Guidelines\_Join/index.html](http://marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Donor_Registry/Med_Guidelines_Join/index.html) Some health insurance will pay for tissue typing (it’s required in Massachusetts). There are frequently fully funded drives, in which an organization will pay all costs. You could try googling for a drive in your state. The kids have to be 18, unless they are getting typed for a relative; some organizations will type high school seniors and ‘hold’ the registration until the kids are 18. Oh, another free way to register; donate platelets. Platelets have to be typed, and (at least when my friend was sick), the hospital would provide the platelet typing information to the NMDP. Have a nice week-end everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/27 "2008-06-13T18:01:12Z")
I’m registered, we had a huge drive back in the late 90s when a buddy of mine had advanced leukemia–and we got him a match and cured. I’m still on the registry, and I hope it helps even though I’m white-white (English and Czech). As for post mortem organ donor, if you’re not I have to wonder about you–it’s not like you’re using them. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/28 "2008-06-16T00:39:39Z")
[QUOTE=Zeriel] As for post mortem organ donor, if you’re not I have to wonder about you–it’s not like you’re using them. [/QUOTE] Oh, dear. I know the answer to this. Some people suspect that medical professionals will not work so hard to save a donor, in the hopes of harvesting. Others are certain their heirs will be billed for the costs of harvesting. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/29 "2008-06-16T01:05:45Z")
I signed up years ago, when a couple who were members of the church I attended had a daughter who’d developed adult onset leukemia. They asked for permission to speak at the end of the service. Their daughter was already dying, having been unable to find a match. But her folks wanted someone else to have a chance someday, so they told us how to get signed up. I’ve never been called, but I get the annual newsletter still. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/30 "2008-06-16T03:02:21Z")
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen] Years ago there was a drive for Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew’s daughter, who was of Carribean and Jewish decent. Sadly, no match was found, but the drive signed up thousands of volunteers (I was one), and IIRC I heard a while back that the drive has resulted in several successful matches. So some good did come out of a tragic story. [/QUOTE] Yep, I was coming in here to post about Michelle Carew, daughter of **California Angels** hitting coach Rod Carew. 😉 Their ancestry looked like the Gordian Knot, it was so complicated. Rod almost never spoke to the press- he was a very private man. But for Michelle, he became a full-on public face of donor lists. There is a beautiful statue of Michelle at the Angels ballpark in Anaheim, CA- if you ever go, you should spend a moment or two reading her plaque. She drew a Christmas card one year for Children’s Hospital (they sell cards with art done by the “cancer kids”), and I sent it out to everyone. It was beautiful- a mother and child done in blues against a yellow background. At 3 months of age, my nephew was the recipient of a cadaver liver donation. We understand that the child was between 1 and 3 years old. I don’t have the words to describe the gift that family gave to mine. ETA- from The Sporting News, a bit about Rod Carew- > [@](#): > > Rod Carew was born on a train in the Panama Canal Zone. His mother while seated in the blacks only section of the train went into labor. Dr. Rodney Cline emerged from the whites only section to deliver her baby. So grateful for this random act of kindness, she named her son Rodney Cline Carew. In 1958, the Carew family migrated to America and settled in the Washington Heights section of New York City. One day after graduating from George Washington High School, the same high school Manny Ramirez attended, Carew signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins. Carew would play 18 years in the majors, named an all-star seventeen times. Carew was a great offensive player, having won seven batting titles, collected 3053 career hits, and had a lifetime batting average of .328. Of note, Carew stole home a remarkable 17 times in his career. This art was taught to him as a rookie with the Twins by his manager Billy Martin. Carew was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991. In 1995, tragedy struck as his young daughter was stricken with leukemia. In spite of Carew’s nationwide appeal for a bone marrow donor, there were no matches, and she lost her battle with leukemia in 1996. Carew has since been promoting awareness of bone marrow donations. In a recent interview with the Rocky Mountain News, Carew was quoted, “when Michelle (Carew’s daughter) fell ill, there was only a fraction of the African-American population in the (bone marrow) registry. Today," Rod Carew said, "the number is much greater. But there is still a long way to go . . . So I’m still on that crusade.” For more information on bone marrow donations, you can visit [http://www.marrow.org](http://www.marrow.org) ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/31 "2008-06-16T13:19:28Z")
Actually, the Carews eventually **did** find a match, but it was a cord blood unit, not bone marrow. She was transplanted with the cord blood, but it was when her leukemia was in a very advanced stage. Perhaps if she had been transplanted earlier, the outcome might have been different Cord blood is still experimental today, and back in the mid-90s, it was even more so. Michelle was one of the early pioneers to receive this treatment. BTW, on June 22, the National Marrow Donor Program and the Minnesota Twins will honor the work of Rod Carew with a pre-game event here in Minneapolis. **Spiff** , NMDP employee ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/32 "2008-06-16T13:38:15Z")
[QUOTE=Zeriel] I’m registered, we had a huge drive back in the late 90s when a buddy of mine had advanced leukemia–and we got him a match and cured. I’m still on the registry, and I hope it helps even though I’m white-white (English and Czech). As for post mortem organ donor, if you’re not I have to wonder about you–it’s not like you’re using them. [/QUOTE] We’ve been through this in a couple threads. I don’t suggest you read them; I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people in them. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/33 "2008-06-16T13:48:19Z")
Banned for sleep apnea. ?!? ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526/34 "2008-06-16T13:50:10Z")
Anesthesia risk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-health-reminder-for-those-of-mixed-race-ancestry-tissue-donation/452526.md?page=1)