Many of us think you have to be dead to donate part of your body. Our bone marrow contains blood products that physicians can use to treat a number of diseases, particularly many types of leukemia. In most cases, a bone marrow transplant is the last and only hope for a critically-ill adult or child. Unfortunately, for it to work, the donor's bone marrow has to match the type needed by the recipient.
Good matches are hard to come by.
That's why physicians and their patients rely on organizations like the National Marrow Donor Program, which maintains a registry of prospective donors. When a patient needs a marrow transplant and a compatible family member isn't available, a physician searches the registry for a suitable donor. If a donor is found and chooses to continue, the marrow is collected through a simple surgical procedure that takes place in the hospital. Your body replaces the marrow naturally in a few weeks. Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas say the decision to become a donor is important.