I’m already on the USA donor list, have been for many years. Some folks at my church had a daughter dying of adult onset leukemia, and they were plugging getting tested. They knew it was too late for their daughter, but maybe not for somebody else.
Ten years and not even a nibble. But I’ve got my fingers crossed.
I have been on the national bone marrow registry since 1988, when I was typed as a potential donor for my father. Unfortunately he was too ill to ever receive the donation and died shortly thereafter. But, I am ready and willing to donate. As has been mentioned the best chances are for a relative and the larger pool of white people seems to be borne out in my case, as I’ve been available for 16 years and never been called. (And I checked; they still have my info and are all set.)
I have also volunteered for my local blood center in conducting typing drives in minority populations, which is low as caligynephobia has explained. I’m not sure who paid for the tissue-typing in the drives I participated in (at churches on Sundays after services), but nobody had to pay.
Even though I say there is a larger pool of white people, the overall registration in the general population is very low. Many, many more of these life-saving transplants could be performed if people would only voluntarily register!
I don’t want to sound like a coward, but … well, I am…
Does it hurt? What’s involved?
I’d like to hear from those who’ve done it please. I can check out websites easily enough but they’re hardly likely to say ‘oh, and it’ll be excruciatingly painful and there’s a giant needle and…’.
So, honestly - what’s it like?
Getting on the registry is as easy as drawing a vial of blood.
If you make a preliminary match, then there is more blood drawing.
The actual bone marrow donation involves local anesthetia and a very long wide bore needle inserted into the femur. It’s icky, but it happens in the hospital and I bet they’d give you some valium if you liked.
Anyone know about the possibility of being on the registery with a possible auto immune disease? I’ve got to think that’s a no-go.
Are you sure it’s local anesthesia and done in the femur? I believed it was general anesthesia and done in the spine. Am I totally off base, or are we talking about two different kinds of marrow donations? 
I assumed it was something like this; most of the promotional material for the first registry drive talked about the need for minority donors, but never said that they were only taking “minority” donors (as they did in future drives). If the woman taking the applications had explained this to me instead of treating me like something that had crawled out from under a rock I would have understood.
I’ve been donating platelets for years, so after reading congodwarf’s post I decided to check the eligibility requirements. Unfortunately, my BMI is too high at the moment; I’d need to lose about thirty pounds to qualify. I’m trying to do that anyway, so maybe later.
Apparently I’m too old – at least in Austrailia.
Does anyone know the age limits in the United States? I’m 61.
Khiadra, my doctor told me that the procedure is painful, but not intolerable.
But think of what you will gain from it. Not only will you save the life of another human being, but for the rest of your life you will know that you have the courage to temporarily endure pain to save that life. Knowing that you have courage is a gift that you make to yourself.
Snap.
Same thing happened to me. I was found to be a preliminary match earlier in the year, went to give the blood sample for further testing, and a couple of weeks later heard that I wasn’t a match.
I got the blood samples taken today 
The blood sample to join the registry in the 1st place, or a sample to determine if you are a full match for somebody after a preliminary match success?
Zoe you’re 61?
You don’t type a day over 27!
The 1st one to join. But I look forward to a full match But I doubt it with my uncoloured european heritage 
heh i wouldn’t go around anticipating a call up at any time. I was on the register for 10 years before being flagged as a preliminary match.
By looking forward to, I meant, looking forward to doing it eventually, considering I’ll be on the register for 48 years, a second test should happen eventually…
Well, when you put it that way…
Besides, I’m okay with ‘painful’. The word I was hoping to avoid was ‘excruciating’, and that seems to be thankfully missing. 
I just wish I didn’t have to travel to the city to do it! You’d think for something as important as bone marrow - or for blood donation, for that matter - that you could do it at any local hospital, wouldn’t you? For example, I’d donate blood happily every 3 months if I could do it locally. As it is, they get it from me maybe once every 2 years.
Still, it looks like once you’re on the registry you don’t need to go in all the time, and they just ring you if they need you. That seems quite perfectly do-able.