You Can Save a Life!

As Mother's Day approaches, we thank our moms (and grandmas and aunts and sisters and sisters-in-law, and more) for all they've done and continue to do for us. I still consider myself a *new-ish* mom. And, almost daily, I appreciate something else my mom must have endured/developed/enjoyed when I was a kiddo.

As with many other holidays, there are plenty of ways to spend $$ to "thank" Mom. The price of roses skyrockets, and we rack our brains for a way to show Mom we love her and are grateful for what she's given us. In our family, the best gifts are the ones that are "home-grown." Footprints as flowers, pictures of kids, etc.

Taking the "home-grown" concept a bit more literally, I wanted to share another opportunity out there. During the Mother's Day season, the National Marrow Donor Program is running a campaign to raise awareness and funds and sign up new donors to its marrow donor registry. Pregos out there can consider donating cord blood. If you sign up online between May 5th-19th, it is free for you to obtain a tissue-typing kit (swab your cheek, it's that easy) so that you can add your name to the never-long-enough list of donors who could save the life of a patient in need.

What would make Mom more proud than knowing the kid she raised would be willing to give of herself (or himself!) to help someone in need? (Need more inspiration? Read this.)

My family has a few connections that make donation even more meaningful.

My sister Laura works at the NMDP. If you didn't already click on the link above to peruse their site, the NMDP is a non-profit organization that provides a registry of marrow donors and cord blood units (please read Laura's explanation of the difference between embryonic stem cells and cord blood stem cells) for patients who are in need of a life-saving transplant. Laura works in the accounting department, but it's amazing how much knowledge she has about the mission of the company, the technical aspects of donation and transplants, and the miracles derived from both. She has one of those great jobs where you feel the work you do is making the world better.

We also believe more in the importance of donation because a dear friend's daughter is currently on the path to receiving her own life-saving transplant. In a couple of days, this little angel will be given the gift of new cells to help her fight a disease she should never have had to endure.

Last winter, when I heard our friend's daughter might need a transplant, I signed up and received my donor card. I went the route of having blood drawn to type my marrow, but registering can be as simple as filling out an online form then swiping your cheek with a cotton swab.

Sometimes it takes a personal connection to bring to light how a small gesture can have a great impact. Chances were slim that I would be a match for my friend's daughter. While she definitely motivated me to act, she wasn't the only reason to register. It's not much help to make yourself a donor with a specific person in mind. How devastating would it be to learn that there was a great match out there, but that donor was available only for someone else?

I'm not trying to pat myself on the back. But I'd like to. And, I'd vigorously slap if I learned that sharing our inspiration led others to pass it on, or that *even better* others were inspired to add their names to the garden of potential life-savers as well.

Happy Mother's Day. I hope I make you proud, Mom!