Save a life - Become a Bone Marrow Donor

A while back Papa Vaughn's cousin was in need of bone marrow transplant. Papa Vaughn and his sister, Aunt Kathlea, have frequently discussed becoming registered donors. One of the problems for doing so has been that it initially wasn't very easy and it costs $50+ to cover the testing and typing to put the donor in the registry. And while it's a great cause, these days $50+ are hard to part with. Well, I've stumbled across a great way to make things much easier for them and hopefully encourage you as well to officially become a registered donor.

A blog I read pointed me to the website for The National Bone Marrow Program and to the fact that from Sept 7-22, 2008 anyone who signs up to be a potential donor will have their fee waived due to a sponsor. This is connected with the 2008 NASCAR Foundation Blood and Marrow Drive. So, I encourage you to check out this site, it's safe, secure and won't cost you anything. I just signed up painlessly and am now awaiting my testing kit. What they do is have you fill out a health questionnaire to prescreen you, then if you meet the requirements they will mail you a kit. This kit, from what I understand, is simply a cotton swab set up that you do yourself and mail back to the lab. From there they test your tissue and type you and establish you in the registry. It's only when and if you become a potential candidate to donate that they will do a further health screening, etc. So, do think about it seriously. Take advantage of registering with no fees before the offer expires. You never know who's life you can help save.