So when you sign up for the bone marrow donor registry everything is pretty much taken care of - you never pay a cent. It's all very easy and streamlined. I was very impressed and feel honored to have had the opportunity to do this.

You just go to www.bethematch.org to start the process - give them your info and they will send you a cheek swab kit. You swab your cheeks and send it back, and voila you're on the registry. If you're someone's match they call you up (as they did me) and you start the donation process - they give you a physical and then set a date to donate.

I donated my PBSCs (peripheral blood stem cells) which is the good stuff that they want for a bone marrow transplant. Expect they didn't have to go into my bones because of magical technology. I was administered a drug in the days leading up to the procedure that caused my marrow to overproduce the cells in question and send them into my bloodstream. Then, today, I was hooked up to a centrifuge that harvests the PBSCs, and gives me back my plasma, platelets, and red blood cells, so no blood loss.

Here is picture of me doing it - the blood comes out of the right arm and goes into the machine, and then I get my blood back through the left arm.

http://imgur.com/Dilj6

All very easy, and painless, and free. In fact I have a hotel stay and meals paid for me since the procedure was in San Antonio, a bit of a drive from where I live. Everyone was extremely friendly and accommodating - all in all, I cannot recommend enough that you also do this. I feel very positive about it.

Sorry if this rubs anyone the wrong way. I originally wanted to keep this a secret, even from my friends (can't hide it from the fam of course), because I didn't want to seem like a sanctimonious douche, until today the lady that runs the regional marrow center told me how short they are on matches - something like 33% of those who need a transplant can't find a match - and asked me to post about my experience on Facebook and the Internet. I realized those people's lives are far more important than my self-image, so I hope you'll join the registry and be a match!

This has been a post. :) Also this is the explanation for my vague references to having medical "issues" the past few days. I had to go get the drugs administered.

I should add that bethematch.org is an American registry but these things exist all over the world, and indeed, you can be a match for someone in another country. But it shouldn't be all that hard to google your country's registry :P

Thank you for doing this Thucy, and thank you for publicising it. Hopefully others on this site will sign up too.

Normally i'd avoid such posts- but well done- and the world needs more like you mate!!

Well done, Thucy! :D

What a sanctimonious douche!

Well played, sir. Sounds like a damned fine excuse for taking a day or two off work :). It does seem like they've taken all the fun out of it, though. It'd be like giving blood without getting to see them shove the needle in.

well done!

Pretty cool. Well done, I guess.

It's people like Thucy that make the world a little less intolerable. I hope that you will one day see the fruit of this effort, because I know that nothing is greater than seeing how you truly impacted someone.
I am happy that some people are willing to make a difference.