Anybody Else Here on the "Be the Match" Bone Marrow Donation Registry?

A few years ago, I joined the "Be the Match" bone marrow donation registry.

What this means is that I'm on a list of people willing to donate bone marrow to "last chance" cancer patients. I had to give a DNA sample (cheek swab), and my DNA specifics are now in a data bank that doctors can search for patient matches.

The deal is that if a doctor chooses me for a marrow donation, I go into the hospital for a one-or-two-day procedure to remove about a quart of marrow from my hips, to be donated to a cancer patient as a last resort to save their life (it helps rebuild their immune system, among other things).

Insurance (the cancer patient's) pays for my hospital expenses.

We (the cancer patient and I) are not allowed to know one another's identities for a full year after donation, at which time we can (if we wish) give our contact info to the other.

I keep hoping I'll be selected...it just seems like it would be awesome to give a last-chance cancer patient hope.

I am not even going to lie, the primary reason that I have always been afraid of doing that is A. Because I am terrified of needles and B. Because I have heard that it hurt like a bitch. However, it has to be an amazing feeling to know that you are literally able to save someone’s life, that you are the reason that they are still here or at least have a fighting chance.

James Carmichael said:

I am not even going to lie, the primary reason that I have always been afraid of doing that is A. Because I am terrified of needles and B. Because I have heard that it hurt like a bitch. However, it has to be an amazing feeling to know that you are literally able to save someone’s life, that you are the reason that they are still here or at least have a fighting chance.

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Thanks. I was really excited to join, hoping I would be selected.

However, I've been a member of the registry for over 5 years, and I haven't been called as a match for anybody yet.

Likely, I've matched several people so far, but doctors want young donors, since young people's marrow is "better" than the marrow of people who are over 40 years old. So it's unlikely I'll ever be asked to donate, but I'm hoping...

I'm a member of the registry as well.