Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

[Nikita]

Hi everyone,

As some of you may know from a previous thread , One of our speakers Thomas Wilhelm was recently a bone marrow donor from the Be the Match program. He contacted us about setting up a registry drive at Defcon 18. We like that Idea and are going to do what we can to make sure they have the space they need in order to grow their donor registry. Just like with the EFF and Hackers for Charity, Hackers (as I know them ) have a strong desire to fix what's broken and often times want to do something epic for humanity. I can't think of a more fitting scenario than saving another life.

Here is a FAQ about the program, It's not as scary as I thought originally, turns out there are a lot of myths about registering and donating your bone marrow. I've created this thread for the organizers, they should be creating a forums account and posting in this thread soon. I hope this is a big hit this year!

-Nikita

[barkode]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

I think this is fantastic.

I fully intend to participate as this is something I've been meaning to do for a long time, and if I can just sit down and add myself to the registry at DEFCON, count me in for sure.

I hope this is a big hit. Looking forward to hearing details.

[Thorn]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Let me add that the National Marrow Donor Program is a very good thing indeed. You have it within you to save someone's life. Sign up.

[panadero]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

My question about donating...what does the blood alcohol content need to be? I'm sure zero, and for how long does it need to be zero?

Not trying to be funny, but we all know what happens a LOT at DC...

[Grendel]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

My question about donating...what does the blood alcohol content need to be? I'm sure zero, and for how long does it need to be zero?

Not trying to be funny, but we all know what happens a LOT at DC...

I am by no means the person to provide an authoritative answer, but I don't think it matters one way or the other. I've seen people eating candy and registering - they have you swab your cheeks in order to grab some cells - don't think additional chemical compositions matter at all.

They used to take blood, but not any more. You can also sign up online, btw - they send you a kit in the mail.

[marrowchick]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Hello - My name is Aubrie "marrowchick" and my partner Oscar "marrowdog" will be sharing some information about becoming a marrow donor at the upcoming DEFCON 18. We work for Be The Match, the National Marrow Registry here in the US. We are so excited that you will join us in saving lives. Please feel free to ask us questions about becoming a donor and we will post a new bit of info for you so you can learn what the process is all about.

Did you know...
MYTH: Donating is painful and involves a long recovery.
FACT: The majority of donation do not involve surgery. Today, the most common way to donate is through a process called Peripheral Blood Stem Cells which is similar to a blood donation process. If you've ever donated blood before you have an idea of what to expect.

[marrowchick]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Hello - My name is Aubrie "marrowchick" and my partner Oscar "marrowdog" will be sharing some information about becoming a marrow donor at the upcoming DEFCON 18. We work for Be The Match, the National Marrow Registry here in the US. We are so excited that you will join us in saving lives. Please feel free to ask us questions about becoming a donor and we will post a new bit of info for you so you can learn what the process is all about.



Did you know...
MYTH: Donating is painful and involves a long recovery.

FACT: The majority of donation do not involve surgery. Today, the most common way to donate is through a process called Peripheral Blood Stem Cells which is similar to a blood donation process. If you've ever donated blood before you have an idea of what to expect.

[eris]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Hello - My name is Aubrie "marrowchick" and my partner Oscar "marrowdog" will be sharing some information about becoming a marrow donor at the upcoming DEFCON 18. We work for Be The Match, the National Marrow Registry here in the US. We are so excited that you will join us in saving lives. Please feel free to ask us questions about becoming a donor and we will post a new bit of info for you so you can learn what the process is all about.

Did you know...
MYTH: Donating is painful and involves a long recovery.
FACT: The majority of donation do not involve surgery. Today, the most common way to donate is through a process called Peripheral Blood Stem Cells which is similar to a blood donation process. If you've ever donated blood before you have an idea of what to expect.

Looks like the harvesting technique is a simple apheresis blood donation. Takes about an hour or so, they pull whole blood from one site on the body, it is spun to separate, the plasma is kept and the red blood cells are reintroduced back into the donor body via a second site. I used to do this all the time for the Red Cross. Easy. And regenerates faster in the host than a pint of red blood taken as during a whole blood donation.

http://www.givelife2.org/donor/apheresis.asp

[YenTheFirst]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Since it may be relevant to some people:

What information does the registry need to keep on an individual to find a match, and what technical & legal protections are in place to protect this data?

[marrowdog]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Looks like the harvesting technique is a simple apheresis blood donation. Takes about an hour or so, they pull whole blood from one site on the body, it is spun to separate, the plasma is kept and the red blood cells are reintroduced back into the donor body via a second site. I used to do this all the time for the Red Cross. Easy. And regenerates faster in the host than a pint of red blood taken as during a whole blood donation.

http://www.givelife2.org/donor/apheresis.asp

Hi this is marrowdog. The PBSC donation uses similar technology as a plasma donation,i.e. aphaeresis, so you are absolutely right. However the actual donation is a bit longer than an hour. It can be any where from 4-6 hours because we can filter through the whole body.

[eris]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Hi this is marrowdog. The PBSC donation uses similar technology as a plasma donation,i.e. aphaeresis, so you are absolutely right. However the actual donation is a bit longer than an hour. It can be any where from 4-6 hours because we can filter through the whole body.

Whoa, your donation can take from four hours to six hours? That's almost an entire day of talks. Not that it isn't worth the time, but if people pay to attend a con to see the talks...I am unsure how many of them will be willing to give up what equates to almost a full day of paid for time. Will this be done in the evening? Or are appointments being set up for a different location/time outside of actual con?

[theprez98]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Whoa, your donation can take from four hours to six hours? That's almost an entire day of talks. Not that it isn't worth the time, but if people pay to attend a con to see the talks...I am unsure how many of them will be willing to give up what equates to almost a full day of paid for time. Will this be done in the evening? Or are appointments being set up for a different location/time outside of actual con?

You're misunderstanding. At the con they'll take a simple swab. Only if you are matched with someone will you need to go through the process; assuming that would be weeks/months/years later.

[Grendel]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

You're misunderstanding. At the con they'll take a simple swab. Only if you are matched with someone will you need to go through the process; assuming that would be weeks/months/years later.

The Prez is correct - at the conference, you're simply giving a quick DNA sample through swabs on the inside of the cheek (from what I've seen, you're done within about 15 minutes total - longer if you sit and chat). It took 2 years before I got my first call (for a different woman that didn't make it) that did not result in marrow donation... and a total of 4 years before I actually got to donate marrow. I've met a lot of people that were on the registry but still haven't gotten the call.

Today, you young kids don't know how easy it is to get on the registry, what with your cotton swabs. In my day, to get on the registry, I had to donate a vial of blood... and to get to the clinic I had to walk 60 miles. Through snow. Uphill. Both ways. And had to fight off dinosaurs. With my teeth (this is before I invented rocks and sticks).

[eris]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

You're misunderstanding. At the con they'll take a simple swab. Only if you are matched with someone will you need to go through the process; assuming that would be weeks/months/years later.

Yep, I was absolutely misunderstanding. I apologize. I went back and re-read as well and realized I had jumped the shark on this one.

[YenTheFirst]

Re: Be The Match Foundation - Bone Marrow Drive @ DC 18

Today, you young kids don't know how easy it is to get on the registry, what with your cotton swabs. In my day, to get on the registry, I had to donate a vial of blood... and to get to the clinic I had to walk 60 miles. Through snow. Uphill. Both ways. And had to fight off dinosaurs. With my teeth (this is before I invented rocks and sticks).

You had teeth? Oh, what a luxury it would have been to have teeth!

In my day, we had to fight of dinosaurs with nothing but our tongues, and maybe a bit of dirt if we were lucky.

And donating a vial of blood? You had to suck on your own arm until the blood came to the surface, then spit it out into a rusty bucket! We didn't have any of these new-fangled "vials".