• Patients fighting blood cancers or blood diseases like leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and more often need a transplant to potentially save their life.
• Only 30% of patients will find a match within their family. Most patients rely on finding an unrelated donor through the Be The Match Registry®.  
• To receive a transplant, a patient must find a matching donor—someone who has the same genetic tissue typing of the immune system.
• The more people who join the registry, the higher chance they have of finding the match who can save their life.

Half of donors contacted on behalf of a patient will decline further testing and donation. This outcome is devastating to the awaiting patient and their family, especially those who are less likely to find a match.

• Be The Match covers travel, meals and hotel for donors and one companion.
• If you have been asked to donate and have other financial barriers that are making things difficult just let us know and we will work with you to get those issues resolved. 
• All medical costs for the donation procedure are covered by the patient’s medical insurance or Be The Match.

• Many mistakenly believe that donating blood stem cells is painful, when in reality it’s not.
• While TV shows and movies have wildly exaggerated blood stem cell donation—especially bone marrow donation—as something scary, the reality is much less dramatic.
• Discomfort during recovery varies from person to person. Side effects may include back pain, fatigue, headache or bruising for a few days or weeks.
• The vast majority of donors say it was worth it to help save a life, and they would do it again.

• It is a common misconception that donating blood stem cells is dangerous. The truth is that there are actually very few risks in donating blood stem cells!
• Protecting the safety of our donors and maintaining the public’s trust is essential to saving lives.
• All donors are carefully prescreened to ensure they are healthy and the procedure is safe for them.
• There are rarely any long-term side effects from donating either PBSC or marrow. The donor’s immune system stays strong, and their blood stem cells replenish themselves in 4 to 6 weeks.
• While no medical procedure is completely risk free, every precaution is taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the donor.
• Because only 1 to 5% or less of your marrow is needed to save the patient’s life, your immune system stays strong.

Only 1 in 430 people who join the registry will go on to donate.

• Patients are more likely to find a match from someone from the same ethnic background. In order to receive a marrow or stem cell transplant, a patient must find someone who closely matches their human leukocyte antigens (HLA) types, a unique set of tissue typing of the immune system. HLAs are inherited from a person’s ethnic group. 
• Many patients from diverse ethnic backgrounds are waiting to find a match on the registry. 

• Healthy marrow and blood cells are needed to live. When disease affects marrow so that it cannot function properly, a marrow or cord blood transplant could be the best treatment option, and for some patients, offers the only potential cure.
• A bone marrow transplant takes a donor’s healthy blood-forming cells and puts them into the patient’s bloodstream, where they begin to grow and make healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Patients receive high doses of chemotherapy to prepare their body for the transplant. Then on transplant day, the patient receives the donated cells in a process that is like getting blood or medicine through an intravenous (IV) catheter, or tube.

• Give us a call at 1-800-MARROW2 (1-800-627-7692) 
• Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 6:00 CST 

Updating your contact information is an important step in staying committed to donating marrow or stem cells by helping us reach out to you if you are matched with a patient.

To update your information, call 1-800-Marrow2 or visit BeTheMatch.org