Be The Match

Today I finished up the process of getting listed on the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. In all, it took about 20 minutes of my time - and not all at once. It took 10 minutes to sign up on line, then 10 minutes to swab the inside of my cheek 4 times and put the swabs back in the postage paid envelope that was sent a week later. That's it!

I've seen pleas for people to join the registry before and I never realized that the process would be so easy. I put it out of my mind, thinking I was too busy. I didn't have time...someone else would do it. Now I've learned. Who will do it if I don't? Am I really that caught up in my own life (and seemingly important activities) that I can't spare 20 minutes of my time? My time is not so precious that I can't use a minuscule amount of it to perform a simple act that may save a life. Yes, you are right. I must be hit over the head in order to learn things!

Carson doesn't need a bone marrow transplant right now, but there are plenty of other people with various cancers and conditions that do need it. They need it sooner rather than later.

One of those people is Emily. She is the sister of Francesca's teacher, Mr. Kelly, who lives in the Boston area. She was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) in November. She began treatment immediately, but they are already looking for a bone marrow donor, and hoping. That's right, she doesn't have a match yet. Her brothers and sisters are not a good match. She needs marrow from someone else. That someone could be YOU or ME.

So, please, take the next few minutes to start the registry process. Click HERE to start.
You will give away 20 minutes of your time, but you might help someone else gain a lot more!

-Jennifer