Please join the registry to help Anh and many others like her find our perfect marrow match. The registration process is very easy and pain free. It takes only a few minutes and consists of filling out a questionnaire and 4 quick swabs of the inside of your cheeks. No needles, no blood, just your saliva. It couldn’t get any easier than this.
If you are unsure of what it means to regiter to become a bone marrow donor entails, to learn more. Once you are ready to register, there are three different methods.
Order a Home Kit Online
Request a free home swab kit and register on a marrow registry to save the life of Anh or others like her. It's only a few simple clicks. If you have any questions, please contact us at teamanh@gmail.com.
There are locations open for you to stop by and register. Find a location near you (HERE)
Registration Process
The registration process is very easy and pain free. It takes only a few minutes and consists of filling out a questionnaire and 4 quick swabs of the inside of your cheeks. No needles, no blood, just your saliva. It couldn’t get any easier than this.
Watch a short video clip on the consent form process
Watch a short video clip on the buccal swab process
What is a cheek swab?
The test is a simple cheek swab.
From the swab 'tissue type' or your 'HLA type' can be gathered. This string of markers is what is used to match a patient to a donor. It takes approximately 10 minutes to donate your sample, it is painless and no blood is involved.
Once your sample is sent in, all results will be added to the National Marrow Donor Program registry where Anh's tissue type can be compared to yours. If your sample isn't a match it will remain in the registry with the hope you will be able to save the life of another person in need.
Joining is easy. Patients need donors who are between the ages of 18 and 60, are in good general health, and are willing to donate to any patient in need. Register online or over the phone. The kit will be mailed to you, you'll swab your mouth with 4 cotton swabs, return them to the kit and mail it back. That's it. That's all it takes to join the National Marrow Donor Program. If you are a match you will be contacted and more extensive, formal testing will be conducted at that time.
Ethnic Minorities: Through the AADP testing for all ethnic minorities or people of mixed heritage is FREE. Because of the critical need for more ethnic diversity in the national registry (Asian, Pacific Islander, African American, Native American & Alaskan, National Hawaiian, Hispanic, and Multi-Racial) your tissue typing costs are completely covered by a federal grant if you are of any minority ethnicity or your descent is of mixed ethnicities.
Please call
Toll Free: 1-800-59-DONOR
Tel (510) 568-3700
or e-mail the AADP for a HOME-TEST KIT if you cannot attend a drive. They will ask you a series of questions, and then send you a kit if you qualify. Kits are fully funded through a special grant for anyone of all or partial ethnic minority descent.
Caucasians (Non-Minorities):
DKMS appears to provide free test kits to both minorities and non-minorities HERE.
Through the AADP testing for Asians and minorities is paid for by a grant from the National Marrow Donor Program: Unless otherwise noted all drives are public and open to all ethnic minorities interested in registering with the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. For Asians and ethnic minorities the tissue typing fee is paid for by a grant from the NMDP.
Caucasians (Non-Minorities): Yes you can register at an AADP donor drive. Due to fluctuating funding and grant requirements, non-minorities will need to pay a subsidized fee of $25* to register. The $25 is a tax deductible donation. This discount may change at any time. You can contact the AADP at 1-800-593-6667 for questions and details.
*Donor tissue typing costs are completely covered by a
grant for everyone of Asian/Pacific Islander, African
American, Latino, Native American or Multi-racial
descent because of the severe need of donors from these
backgrounds. Due to a need for funding, Caucasians may
be asked to make a tax-deductible donation of $25 to
help cover the cost of their tissue typing.
Joining is easy. Patients need donors who are between the ages of 18 and 60, in good general health, and are willing to donate to any patient in need.
Option #3
Visit a donor office in person
Office visits are by appointment only so be sure to contact them to schedule one first.
Option #4
Private Testing
This is the fastest way to be tested and is also the only way to only be tested for one specific person. If you donate through the AADP or a national donor drive your results will be entered into the national database and will be kept on record to potentially be matched by every person ever in need.
You can contact a local blood bank/center or hospital to learn if they offer private testing and what their rates are.
Online you can use Bone Marrow Test.com. Here is their website's current pricing for private tests and the turnaround time to receive your results:
Cost for a 7-10 day result is $175
Cost for a 2-4 day result is $375
If your HLA sample meets the critieria to be a "Preliminary Match" the subsequent "Formal" or "Confirmative" testing costs somewhere in the neighborhood of an additional $3000 which may or may not be covered by the patient's insurance.
A fifth way to donate into the registry exists
Donate Umbilical Cord Blood: In the past, when a baby was born, the umbilical cord was thrown away. But today, blood from the umbilical cord can be collected after your baby's birth and donated to a public cord blood bank to help someone with a life-threatening disease. (more info here)
