Bone Marrow Donor Program

For quite some time now people have been forwarding the link http://www.helpvinay.org/. I have heard of bone marrow transplants, but did not have much info on them. So when I heard of the drive in Minneapolis, I wanted to find out more. As always, Wiki had a good start into to the subject -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_marrow_transplant
But I wanted to know more. http://www.marrow.org/ was the next stop, and it provided answers to most of my questions. I was a bit worried though when I read "Marrow donors can expect to feel some soreness in their lower back for a few days or longer." Having a minor back problem, it was natural for me to be worried. A bit more research indicated that unless a person has a serious back problem and has undergone surgeries, it should not be an issue. I thought of checking at the donor center. Yesterday I went to the donor drive at the Minnehaha park in Minneapolis and got all my doubts clarified with the representative there. I registered as a bone marrow donor and that should indicate the confidence that I got over the program.

The registeration is pretty simple. We need to swipe the inside of our cheeks with cotton buds (like the ones used to clean the ear) and give it back. There is nothing to it.

It feels so good now after registering for the program. I have taken my step towards helping someone. Hopefully more and more people participate in the donor program and Vinay and the others requiring a donor find one soon.

For information on a drive near you, visit http://www.helpvinay.org/dp/index.php?q=event
For more information on being a donor, visit http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/index.html

It is like blood donation, a donor's marrow is completely replaced within four to six weeks