The current national bone marrow registry does not have many Asians. While a donor could be of any ethnicity, his best hope is to ask people of Asian descent to be screened. 

Nowadays, the screening process is simple and painless. The bone marrow registry asks for simple, painless swabs of your cheek for cells that they can then test to see if you match Jonah’s tissue type which will determine whether his body will accept or reject a donor’s cells. The registry also asks for your medical history and contact information so they can reach you if you are a match. 

Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drives

The survey results and tissue typing results will be kept in a national registry.  This information will be available not only for Jonah, but for anyone in the nation seeking willing donors for a bone marrow transplant. If you are a match, they will contact you to ask if you are willing to donate. 

You will be asked to provide bone marrow cells to someone in great need of it. Most of the time (70%) donors receive a safe medication for five days to increase their blood cell supply, then they provide a blood donation where blood is removed, certain cells are selected and stored, and the remaining blood is returned to the donor.  No surgery is required using this technique. However, 30% of the time, the patient needs the marrow to be harvested under general anaesthesia. All the logistics of the donation will be coordinated with you and for you. 

If you have already registered, then as long as your contact information is up to date, you do not need to register again. If you have moved or changed your contact information, you can register again to provide updated information.