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Vanity_Plate398 karma

I'm signed up as a donor on BeTheMatch (the national bone marrow donor registry for the US). The last time I mentioned it on Reddit, I got a bunch of replies saying, "Isn't donation incredibly painful and risky?!" I know donating via a blood draw isn't painful or significantly risky, but what about the pelvic bone tap? Can any of you speak to this? Elsewhere on the Internet, personal accounts of the procedure are pretty variable.

EDIT: Added link to BeTheMatch. Signing up is easy: volunteers receive a cheek swab kit in the mail and simply mail it back.

Vanity_Plate30 karma

Hopefully the replies and stories from the donors in this thread will reassure you enough to send it back!

For me, discovering that a friend's daughter needed a transplant motivated me to join the registry immediately. The thought of a family waiting and wondering if a donor would be found was just heartbreaking.

Vanity_Plate2 karma

Nope, totally free. I'm pretty sure the swab kit came with a prepaid envelope so I didn't even have to pay to mail it back.