JOIN THE REGISTRY, CALL DKMS AMERICAS!!!!
Every day, thousands of patients just like Giovanni are searching for a matching marrow or blood cell donor--someone just like you—who is committed to giving patients with life-threatening diseases a second chance at life. To join the Registry, you must be 18 to 60, in good health and committed to helping any patient in need. To join online, visit www.dkms.org
The registration process is very simple. Once you register online, you will receive a kit in the mail. The kit contains everything you need including kit instructions and a postage-paid return envelope. When you mail back the kit, your tissue is typed and your name is added to the national Registry. If you are a match, DKMS will contact you for further evaluation.
RAISE AWARENESS
Please share this opportunity to save a life with your friends, family members or associates. Encourage them to join the global movement of more than 10 million volunteers who are committed to giving patients a second chance at life.
STEPS OF MARROW AND
BLOOD CELL DONATION
1. Join the Registry. Volunteers must be between the ages of 18-60 and meet the health guidelines.
2. Stay committed and available. Doctors search the Registry to find a donor whose tissue type matches their patient’s. If you are chosen, your donor center will contact you. If you agree to proceed, more testing will be scheduled.
3. Attend an information session. If you are called as a match and agree to proceed, you will meet with staff from your donor center to learn about the donation process, risks, and side effects. You are free to bring a friend of family member. You will be told which source of blood-forming cells is being requested—either collected from the marrow or the circulating blood (known as PBSC donation). You will then decide whether or not to donate.
4. Receive a physical exam. If you agree to donate, you will be given a physical exam to discover if donating would pose any special risks to you or the patient.
MARROW DONATION
• Marrow donation is a surgical procedure. While you receive anesthesia, doctors use special, hollow needles to withdraw marrow from the back of the pelvic bone. Many donors receive a transfusion of their own previously donated blood.
• Side effects and Recovery. You can expect to feel some soreness in your lower back for a few days or longer. Most donors are back to their normal routine in a few days. Your marrow is replaced within four to six weeks.
• Follow-up. Your NMDP donor center coordinator will follow up with you until you are able to resume normal activity. You will also receive annual calls for long-term follow-up.
PBSC DONATION
• PBSC donation takes place at an apheresis center. To increase the number of blood forming cells in the bloodstream, donors receive daily injections of a drug called filgrastim for five days before the collection. Your blood is then removed through a sterile needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to you through the other arm.
• Side effects and Recovery. You may experience headache, or bone or muscle aches for several days before collection. This is a side-effect of the filgrastim injections that you receive to increase the number of blood-forming cells in the bloodstream. These effects disappear shortly after the collection.
• Follow-up. Your NMDP donor center coordinator will follow up with you until you are able to resume normal activity. You will also receive annual calls for long-term follow-up
From one Giovanni to another...please help raise awareness and vote EVERY day, or as often as you can, until August 1! Also, please pass this along to anyone you think may be interested in helping as well! Thank you!
