1. MYTH: Donating bone marrow means having a big needle stuck into your hipbone
2. MYTH: You can't join the bone marrow registry if you are over the age of 40./You have to pay to join the registry if you are over 40.
While it's true that you can only join Be the Match? the largest American registry - for free if you are 18-40, you can still join the large international registry, DKMS, for free up to the age of 55. To join, simply fill out the form to receive a free test kit in the mail. It doesn't matter which registry you join because all international registries are checked anytime a search is done for a patient.
3. MYTH: You can't join a bone marrow registry if you are gay.
Actually the bone marrow registries are happy to accept gay people as well as other members of the LGBTQ community.
4. MYTH: Bone marrow donation is life threatening.
According to a 2009 study of 27,000 individuals who donated bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, there were only 5 deaths. Put another way, your chance of surviving bone marrow donation is 99.99%. On the other hand, approximately 3,000 people in the US alone die each year because they don't have a match.
5. MYTH: Bone marrow transplants are only used to treat cancer.
6. FACT: At least one person you know is going to be affected by bone marrow transplant.
Each year, about 18,000 people in the US alone will need a bone marrow transplant. It is used to treat so many diseases that the odds are good that at least one person you know is going to be affected by bone marrow transplant in your lifetime.
7. FACT: Bone marrow transplant is not a surgical procedure.
Getting a bone marrow transplant is a process actually very similar to getting a blood transfusion. Once the cells are in a patient's bloodstream, they find their way into the bone marrow.
8. FACT: Being someone's bone marrow match has (almost) nothing to do with blood type.
There are only 8 common blood types. In contrast, there are an estimated 20 million different "bone marrow types;" some of these are more common than others. You can be a bone marrow match for someone even if you have completely different blood types. However, if a patient has multiple matches, one that also has the same blood type might be considered a "better" match than one that doesn't.
9. FACT: Not everyone has the same likelihood of finding a match when they need one.
Generally, members of racial minorities or mixed race individuals are less likely to find a match. For instance, while a white patient has a 77% chance of having a match, a Black person has only a 23% chance.
10. FACT: Cord blood can also be used as a source for bone marrow transplants.
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