A PSA: Consider joining the bone marrow registry

This morning I was doing my usual blog crawl when I came across this piece from Angry Asian Man (click on this link).

Basically, racial/ethnic minorities are very underrepresented in the national bone marrow registry. So the Asian American Donor Program is trying to do something about this. If you go to this link (click here), you can order a home-kit, FOR FREE (normally they are around $30-60 I think), if you are a member of an ethnic/racial minority (all or in part--that's the language of their site).

Regardless of your background, please consider joining the bone marrow registry. It's really a simple process--you swab your cheek, seal it up, and mail it back. There are several bone marrow transplant drives that will be occurring in urban areas (and you can always check your local hospital, especially if you live near a teaching hospital) but really, please do consider doing it.

I have 2 friends who have had bone marrow transplants, and one is currently undergoing this process. They are all white Americans, but finding a match was none-the-less nail-biting. The odds get worse when you are a member of an ethnic/racial minority. For example, only 3% of Asian Americans are part of the registry. And although ethnic similarity is not a lock-in for matching tissue/blood (a close friend, who is of Korean ancestry received a liver transplant from a Euro-American), apparently it helps.

A lot of people talk about wanting to make a difference--taking this small step means you are.