Few know better the incredible need for bone marrow donors more than Sam Kimura, a 24-year-old Louisville native. Kimura, diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia at age 17, needs a matching donor to survive. Seven years into her battle, she’s still looking for a match.
Thousands of patients with blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, sickle cell anemia or other life-threatening diseases depend on marrow donors to save their life, but a genetic match can be difficult to find. Some of the nearly 10,000 new diagnoses annually that require a transplant find a match among family members, but roughly seven out of every ten depend on finding a match from a stranger.
That leaves thousands playing a waiting game, like Kimura.
Though she’s in remission, she’s not content to wait.
Are you registered?
Kimura, her sister, Alex, and a friend, Taylor Shorten, are currently on a nationwide tour to register new donors and combat misinformation about donating.
“Before I got sick we had no idea about this huge need for more donors on the registry,” Kimura told the Philadelphia Inquirer recently.
The tour, dubbed Sharing America’s Marrow, is visiting all 50 states with a goal of collecting 50,000 potential donors by the end of the year.
The trio has been on the road since January. So far, they’ve visited 85 cities in 35 states, covering more than 7,500 miles. They’ve registered 9,500 potential donors.
They’ve also found 67 matches among those donors.
“It’s been quite an adventure: Really high highs and really low lows,” Kimura said. “But it’s also been very rewarding, knowing we are making a difference.”
What is marrow?
Marrow is that soft, spongy tissue that fills the center of most bones. It plays a huge role in blood production, making more than 200 million new blood cells every day. It also has stem cells, including pluripotent stem cells which are the important part in transplants.
Those cells reproduce cells not only similar to them, but also generate other types of cells.
Marrow also helps produce lymphocytes, which play an important role in the body’s immune system.
How do I register to be a donor?
Adding yourself to a donor list is easy, and can be done through the mail. For example, the Be The Match registry will send you a kit once you’ve expressed interest in being a donor. Included in the kit is a swab and return envelope. Swab the inside of your cheek, put it in the envelope, mail it off and the registry will check DNA from those cells to see if you’re a match. If not, the organization will keep your profile in its system for a potential match in the future.
Other registries can be done with a simple blood sample “” no more than a pin prick to the finger.
It’s important to remember: Just because you’ve registered to be a donor doesn’t mean you have to donate, should a match be found. You can change your mind at any time.
Donating marrow
If a match is found and you decide to donate, you may go through one of two procedures, depending on the cells doctors need to transplant.
A peripheral blood donation is used for certain types of cancers. A phlebotomist will take blood from one arm. Once the blood is processed through a machine to harvest the cells needed, the remaining blood is injected back into your system.
The other type is a little more involved. A surgical procedure to remove marrow involves anesthesia and doctors removing marrow from your pelvic bone using a needle. Donors can end up a little sore after donating, but the pain is minor.
