national marrow donor program

These past few weeks my mind has naturally been occupied with the trials that cancer patients go through each and every day. Not a week goes by that Rich isn’t poked and prodded in some manner, but for others it is a daily occurrence. Many times in the first couple of weeks after Rich’s diagnosis I sat in agony in a waiting room, just imaging the horrors his body was experiencing during surgery and other procedures. This may sound very silly, and even a bit insane to some of you, but I often found myself wanting to run down to the blood donation center to give blood; I wanted to be poked too, to feel like I was doing something other than just sitting there, and in a way, to share some of Rich’s pain.

We are blessed in that Rich’s cancer was found at stage two, rather than stage four. Stage four would have meant that his bone marrow was compromised, and could have possibly brought with it the future need of a bone marrow transplant. We thank God daily that this will not be the case for him. But, it could have been, and it IS the case for untold numbers of others sruggling with cancer. Sadly, many people who might have lived die without bone marrow transplants because no match can be found. This is where I CAN help! Yesterday I registered with the National Bone Marrow Donor Program. I went to the blood donation center at Ft. Sam Houston here in San Antonio where they also register marrow donors, and I was in and out in under 20 minutes. It is a simple procedure that doesn’t even involve giving blood! All you do is swab four different areas of the insides of your cheeks. That provides enough information for you to be matched to someone as a potential donor.

There is a GREAT need for bone marrow donors. It is super easy for us, and only a minor inconvenience; but it can mean the difference between life and death for someone else. To find out more information, check out the National Marrow Donor Program website here. You will find that you can even register online and get a kit through the mail! I ask you to prayerfully consider signing up and making yourself available to help someone else.