Patients all over the world need people like you to donate marrow, blood stem cells or umbilical cord blood, or to help in other ways. There are many ways you can contribute:

A small sample of blood is all it takes to find out your tissue type and to be listed on the Registry. Potential donors are everyday people who are willing to do something extraordinary -- donate their marrow or blood stem cells to help save the life of any patient, anywhere in the world.

Anyone in good general health between the ages of 18 and 60 can join the Registry. Because patients are most likely to match a donor of their same race or ethnicity, there is a special need for donors who are Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Hispanic or Latino. The cost to join may be waived for potential donors from these groups.

If you are identified as a potential match, you’ll learn all about the donation process. If you go on to donate, you could save someone’s life.

Your baby's umbilical cord blood could give hope to a patient with leukemia, aplastic anemia or other blood diseases. The stem cells found in cord blood are being studied under research protocols as a new method for treating patients in need.

Any woman who is at least 18 years old (16 in some locations), in general good health and who lives in a community where cord blood donation is available may be able to donate her baby's cord blood. If you would like to donate your baby's cord blood, look on the National Marrow Donor Program’s Web site at www.marrow.org/HELP/help_idx.htmlto find out more information.

Because cord blood donation is still a growing field, not all hospitals are prepared to receive a donation at this time.

Through the Northwest Airlines AirCares^® program you can donate Northwest Airlines WorldPerks miles to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). The NMDP uses these frequent flyer miles to fly unrelated donor stem cell transplant recipients and their caregivers to their transplant centers free of charge.

The minimum donation is 5,000 miles and you can donate more in 1,000-mile increments.

• Donate a portion of your total existing WorldPerks miles.
• Commit to donate each time you travel.
• Encourage your employer to donate a portion of your company’s WorldPerks miles or to designate a specific month for donating the company’s WorldPerks miles to the NMDP.

To donate, WorldPerks members can call Northwest Airlines toll free in the United States at (800) 327-2881. (Outside the United States, contact your local Northwest Airlines office.) You will need to specify National Marrow Donor Program as the recipient of the miles. All donations are final and are not tax deductible.

4.Donate other blood products, such as whole blood or platelets.
All transplant patients will need other blood products during their treatment.

5.Donate your time.
Contact your local donor center, recruitment group or cord blood bank to find out how you can get involved.

6.Donate money for scientific research, donor recruitment and tissue typing, or awareness campaigns. To make a financial contribution, contact the National Marrow Donor Program’s partner, The Marrow Foundation at www.themarrowfoundation.org.

The Marrow Foundation continues to expand and focus resources on the urgent need to improve the outcome of unrelated donor marrow or blood stem cell transplantation on a worldwide basis. The Foundation works with individuals, corporations and foundations to enlist support for innovative ventures, which include start-up funds as well as multi-year grants for in-depth scientific investigation.

November is the National Marrow Donor Program’s Awareness Month. Thank you for considering these opportunities to help make a difference in a patient’s life.

To learn more about blood stem cell transplantation and other ways you can help, visit the National Marrow Donor Program at www.marrow.org or call 1(800) MARROW-2.