Article 161 of sci.med.pharmacy:
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From: r0th@ellis.uchicago.edu (Dr. Samuel Conway)
Subject: Bone marrow donation (was: APPEAL: PLEASE SAVE A LIFE)
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With all the talk of bone marrow transplantation of late, I would like to
point out that every day, an average of 25 people die waiting for a donor
that is never found.

In the U.S., and many other countries, there are computer databases that
are kept of thousands of potential donors whose body-tissue types have
been tested.  When a bone marrow transplant is needed and no sibling donors
are available, this list is consulted for possible non-related matches.  So
far, over 1000 people have been able to undergo transplants from donors
found in this way.

To register yourself, a simple blood test is all that is required.  Sometimes
there is a fee, and sometimes not -- it depends on the testing center and the
amount of funding available.  The transplant itself is a very simple procedure
for the donor, and contrary to popular belief, it is not painful.  In fact,
it usually causes only minor stiffness that goes away within a day or two.

How do I know this?  I have been a bone marrow donor.  I was the 313th match
found through the U.S. National Registry; my recipient was a 4-year-old boy,
who I am happy to say is now 8 years old and quite healthy.

I would be glad to provide further information to anyone who wishes it.
Please respond via email, as I do not often read many of the groups to
which this posting is directed.

----
Dr. Samuel Conway         *  "If the guest isn't singing, 'Oh What a Beautiful
National Center for       *  Morning' I don't immediately think, 'Oh, there's
Toxicological Research,   *  another one snuffed it in the night!'  Another
Jefferson, AR             *  name in the Fawlty Towers book of Remembrance.
r0th@midway.uchicago.edu  *  I mean, this is a hotel, not the Burma Railway!"



Article 168 of sci.med.pharmacy:
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From: mhollowa@ic.sunysb.edu (Michael Holloway)
Newsgroups: sci.med,alt.folklore.science,sci.skeptic,sci.med.pharmacy,sci.bio,talk.politics.medicine
Subject: Re: Bone marrow donation (was: APPEAL: PLEASE SAVE A LIFE)
Date: 4 Aug 1993 22:04:36 GMT
Organization: State University of New York at Stony Brook
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In article <1993Aug3.160616.4942@midway.uchicago.edu> r0th@midway.uchicago.edu writes:
>With all the talk of bone marrow transplantation of late, I would like to
>point out that every day, an average of 25 people die waiting for a donor
>that is never found.

Thank you very much for your post.  I was called in yesterday to have my
blood HLA-DR typed for further matching to a potential marrow recipient.
I've asked several people (at the blood center as well) but no one seems
to know what the statistics are for matching these last two antigens when
I've already been matched for the other four.  All anyone seems to know is
the 1 in 20,000 figure for finding a match for all six.  At least I'm fully
in the registry now.

Do you know about the TRNSPLNT listserv group.  Several bone marrow recipients
are on the list.  We'd really like to have you and anyone else interested in
the subject of organ and tissue transplantation.  I really believe that a
discussion/support group like this can fill a very necessary void for
promoting donation.  Once enough people have subscribed I plan on using the
member base for votes to create a Usenet group for organ donation.  We still
need about 40 more votes.

To subscribe send a message to LISTSERV@WUVMD.WUSTL.EDU.  On the first line
of text place "subscribe TRNSPLNT" (without the quotes) followed by the name
by which you want to be known by.  I plan on scanning and posting the UNOS
Update to TRNSPLNT and sci.med when it comes in once a month.

Thanks
Mike Holloway
mhollowa@ccmail.sunysb.edu



