You may ask, what is the bone marrow registry? The bone marrow registry is for people who would be willing to donate some of their bone marrow to patients who are sick. The patients may need bone marrow due to leukemia, lymphoma, or other diseases. By being on the bone marrow registry you can save some of these patients. Everyone who is able to should join the bone marrow registry as soon as they can.

You may ask "why do so many people need to register?" So many people need to register due to the fact that the only way bone marrow can be donated is if there is an exact match to one of the patients that needs it. 70% of people who need a bone marrow transplant don't have a match within their family so they need to find it from registries (Be The Match, 2016). Since it is so rare to find an exact match, the more people that join the registry the better the chance is that they can find a match.

Registering is actually very easy. There are many websites where you can find places to register. I registered online through bethematch.org. With be the match you can either go in somewhere near you to register or you can have them email you a kit. There were no places near me, so I was mailed a kit that I received in a few days. With the kit all I had to was swab my cheeks and put a label on and send it back.

If you were to get chosen they would give you a call ask you to come in for tests to make sure that you actually are a perfect match and give you all the information about the process. The actual process may vary due to the needs of the patient. If you decide to go through with it, you get it done and you could be back to normal in a short amount of time. You may also get to meet the person who got the transplant in the future.

Thank you bethematch.com for a lot of valuable information. If you are between the ages of 18 and 61 years old please register!