Bone marrow is the soft tissue located in the cavities of bones. Bone marrow is the source of all blood cells. Bone marrow can be donated and transplanted. Bone marrow can regenerate blood cells in a person who suffers with an illness such as Leukemia.

Why Donate it?

Your probably wondering why you should donate your blood marrow. The answer is really simple, because you could save a life. Some patients family members may donate blood marrow but it may be rejected or not be a match so if you donate yours you could save a life. Your donation increases the chance that a person has of receiving a match. Every year, thousands of people need bone marrow transplants. This procedure may be their only chance for survival. Some patients have a genetically matched family member who can donate, about 70 percent do not. These patients' lives depend on finding an unrelated individual with a compatible tissue type frequently within their own ethnic group.

Who can Donate bone marrow?

Anyone between the age of 18 and 60 can donate bone marrow. But you have to meet the health requirements. To see if your pass the requirements or to sign up to be a bone marrow donor you can visit this web site. http://www.marrow.org/HELP/join_the_registry.html (i am in no afilliation with this site)

How can you donate?

Visit this link and you will find all the steps of joining a registry and donating marrow.

http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/steps_of_donation.html

Why should minorities donate.

The Registry consists of nearly 4.5 million volunteer donors. Only about 2 million of them are minorities. The minority donors on the Registry consist of Hispanics, American Indians, African-Americans, Asians, and persons of one or more ethnic or racial background. That means that a minority patient has a lower chance of finding a bone marrow match. If more minorities became volunteer donors, it would create a more diverse Registry by adding new tissue types that are currently not available. This would really increase the chances of all patients in need of a bone marrow transplant to receive a life-saving cure.