Last Friday University students had two opportunities to give the gift of life. The Red Cross held a record-setting blood drive in Carmichael Gym, an opportunity to impact others that was widely publicized-but the National Marrow Donor Program was also present. The registry gave students an opportunity to learn about the program and put themselves on the list of donors. 

Betsie Letterle, Account Executive at the National Marrow Donor Program, coordinated the bone marrow drive, dispelling myths about donation and helping potential donors overcome any fears they may have had. Stories of local patients were also made available to students so they could better understand what their bone marrow might be used for. 

“When someone needs a transplant they look at full brothers and sisters first,” Letterle said.” “Twenty-five percent of the time they match, and if not, the person can search the registry.” 

Kayleigh Church, a junior in psychology, said she has mixed feelings about signing up for the registry because she has heard different things from different people. 

“On the one hand, I’ve heard that the donation process is pretty extensive and painful; but on the other hand, you could be helping to save a life from a terrible disease,” Church said. “Personally, I’ve always thought that if you’re lucky enough to have a healthy body, then there’s an inherent responsibility for you to pay it forward if you’re called upon to help. After all, you might be on the receiving end one day.” 

Bone marrow transplants are used primarily to treat cancers of the blood such as leukemia and lymphoma, according to Letterle. Matching tissue types, however, is exponentially more difficult than matching blood types. 

“There are six points that must be perfectly matched to find a suitable tissue donor,” Letterle said. “Normally, when a patient is diagnosed, doctors screen full brothers or sisters for a match and parents are not usually suitable donors. If a suitable donor is found, then a donation can be made in two ways.” 

One way to make a donation is to have stem cells taken from a donor’s arm through a special transfusion, and the other way is to harvest marrow from the hip, according to Letterle. 

“Marrow from the hip is usually used for younger people and babies while stem cells from the arm are more likely to be used in adults,” Letterle said. “Ultimately, it is the doctor’s decision to decide which kind of donation is better for the patient.” 

Jenn Smith, a senior in biomedical engineering, has not signed up for the registry because she has reservations about the donation process. 

“I’ve heard that it’s a pretty invasive procedure to donate,” Smith said. 

Approximately 6000 people in the nation are currently diagnosed with a disease that requires them to have a marrow transplant, but they all may not be able to undergo the procedure due to insurance coverage reasons, according to Letterle. The other patients search the list in hopes that someone matches their tissue type. 

Gender doesn’t matter in the donor process; a man can donate marrow to a woman and vice-versa. After marrow is donated, however, the recipient will convert to the donor’s blood type, Letterle said. For example, a person with type A positive blood who receives bone marrow from a B positive donor will produce B positive blood in their body after the procedure. 

“Any marrow donated with the registry always goes straight to the recipient, and is never used for research,”Letterle said. “Young people make the best donors, and males are usually better donors than women because they don’t have antigens in their blood from pregnancy.” 

Geoff Ricci, a senior in microbiology, said he would definitely donate bone marrow for a good cause, “especially if it were for a friend or a family member.” 

Many people donate to the registry because they can relate to the fact that everyone is someone’s family member or friend. In addition, the high occurrence of cancer leads many people to want to help to stop the disease. 

“My best friend in elementary school had leukemia,” said Dylan Proctor, a sophomore in finance. “That makes me more likely to consider the registry.”