"Be the Match" Marrowthon

I usually write about my stuff on this blog, how dealing with my type 2 diabetes diagnosis (a year ago last Sunday!) has transformed my life in so many ways.

But this week I wanted to call your attention to the National Marrow Donor Program's "Be the Match" Marrowthon. I had never given much thought to bone marrow donation, but a little boy in our neighborhood--a good friend of Things 1&2--was recently diagnosed with a disease that may, if his current treatment does not work, require him to receive a bone marrow donation. This inspired the Mr. and me to sign up for the registry. We missed the bone marrow donor drive offered at the church affiliated with his elementary school, but we went to a drive at our local farmer's market, because *another* local boy also needed to find a donor match.

The National Marrow Donor Program typically askes for a donation from potential donors to cover the cost of processing, but from June 8-22, there is no cost to joining the registry. For more information, please see the "Be the Match" web site. People can join by either stopping by a local donor drive or by ordering the online kit. (At a donor drive, it takes about 20 minutes or so to complete the paperwork and cheek cell swab.)