Friends for Life of America strives to educate the community about the efforts of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry. The Office of Public Relations distributes literature and responds to inquiries about ways in which potential donors can give a "gift of life" to patients in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Any person in good health between 18 and 60 years old may donate bone marrow. After joining the registry, potential donors complete a brief health questionnaire, sign a form consenting to have your tissue type listed on the Registry, and provide a small blood sample to determine tissue type. Although some patients find matches within their own families, seventy percent of patients rely on the Registry to find unrelated individuals with healthy marrow.

Certain characteristics of marrow type differ according to ancestry. To increase the number of registered donors, Friends for Life of America recruits people of different races and ethnicities. Due to the shortage of minority donors, the National Marrow Donor Program encourages members of all descents to join the registry. To overcome language barriers, website translations in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese are available. In conjunction with their efforts, Friends for Life of America promotes blood and bone marrow drives and provides information in Spanish on the importance of bone marrow donation.

Make a personal commitment to save the lives of others. For more information about bone marrow donation, call the National Marrow Donor Program toll-free at 1-800-MARROW-2.