The bone marrow donation process can be intimidating to many people. So, part of hosting a successful drive is helping people overcome the fear factor of donating. It’s not the cheek swabs that scare people…it is the prospect of getting that phone call as being a potential match/donor and not knowing what to do.
Here are some tips to help you engage potential donors in conversation.
Opening lines to get people to the tableMy [insert relation to Grace] Grace Chen is only 24 years old and she is fighting for her life. Grace was just diagnosed with a blood cancer called leukemia. She needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life, and being an Asian, her chances are VERY slim of finding a match. We are here today to save Grace’s life.
We are trying to register more Asians/minorities for the national bone marrow registry, to increase Grace’s chance of finding a match and surviving.
Helping Grace helps all Asians….because it is most likely that a match is found within your own ethnicity.
This could happen to any of us– or our loved one. Perhaps our child. Our brother or sister. Our parent. Our friend. We must increase the number of Asians registered, to protect our community.
Supposing you or a loved one were diagnosed with leukemia tomorrow…you would want to know that you could find a match, right?
I know the bone marrow donation process might sound scary…let me explain the process to you, and then you can decide if it’s something you’re interested in.
Once people get to the registration table…Today, you will just be joining the registry. You will fill out a form, and do 4 cheek swabs. This will take just 5-10 minutes of your time.
You are joining the registry not only for Grace… but for anyone for whom you might be a match. Just think— you could save someone’s life! What an incredible opportunity to be someone’s hero.
If you are called as a match someday, maybe even years from now, you will be asked to get a physical exam and do a blood test to confirm the match. If you are still a match, you are not under legal obligation to donate… but you will have a chance to save someone’s life. That is an incredible feeling, a very spiritual experience for many people.
The donation process is not as invasive as you think. There are 2 possible methods to donate.
You will be under general anesthesia so you will not experience pain during the procedure – but you will have some soreness for a few days.
It is an outpatient procedure – you will be home the same day.
Before you donate, you receive injections of Filgrastim (FDA approved, like a protein) for 5 days to increase the number of blood-forming cells in your bloodstream. You may experience flu–like symptoms for a few days before donate because of the medication
After the donation, your body normalizes the very next day as 99% of the Filgrastim is gone from your body.
