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Brendan's Donor Circle

at University of Georgia CAP Program

Hello family/friend/stranger of Brendan’s! Considering joining the bone marrow donor registry, but have some questions before you order your kit? Here are some answers!

1. Bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplants are when healthy cells are taken from a donor and used to treat a patient suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, or other blood cancers and disorders. The registry is used when no match can be found in the family. Each year, 20,000 people await a stranger to match with them and give them a cure.

2. No, you won’t donate right away, if at all! To be a match for a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplant, there are a lot of specific tissue-type genes involved. There is a 0.1% chance you will ever be called to donate to a stranger. This percentage is slightly higher if you are a male and/or a POC. Often, finding a match is a game of statistics: the more people that join the registry, the better the chances are for a patient, so invite everyone! I say it’s low risk, high reward. The chances of matching are slim, but if you do, you save someone’s life!

3. No, it doesn’t hurt (that episode of House made us look bad). 80% of the time someone is called as a donor, it’s a peripheral blood stem cell donation (PBSC), which is like donating blood via apheresis. Just chilling and watching Netflix for a few hours, then BAM! you’ve saved a life. The other 20% of the time (usually when the patient in need of a transplant is a child) you are put under anesthesia and it is a biopsy needle to the crest of the hipbone. You’re given pain medication, but most people don’t need it and say it feels like bumping your hip on the countertop. You leave the hospital, and again, BAM! you’ve saved a life. The Gift of Life Marrow Registry covers every expense so that you don’t spend a cent. To me, any minimal discomfort you may experience is worth curing another person’s cancer.

4. It’s okay if hospitals and needles and blood make you nervous, but don’t let that stop you from joining the registry! Even if you make that slim 0.1% chance of becoming a donor, you can overcome your fear to save someone’s life. Wouldn’t you want a stranger to do the same, if they were the only match to cure your loved one’s cancer? 

If you have more specific questions than what/when/how, feel free to email me at newmanbm@miamioh.edu! I will get back to you with resources and answers within a day.

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Brendan Newman (owner)

UPDATES

Recent Activity

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Aug 31, 2023

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 8 year old boy battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Aug 18, 2023

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 65 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Aug 16, 2023

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 71 year old woman battling Plasma Cell Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jul 05, 2023

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 24 year old woman battling Severe Aplastic Anemia.

New transplant in Brendan's Donor Circle
May 31, 2023

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has transplanted a 79 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Apr 03, 2023

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 72 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Mar 03, 2023

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 65 year old woman battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Feb 01, 2023

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 58 year old man battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Nov 29, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 53 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Nov 02, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 12 year old boy battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Oct 14, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 51 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New transplant in Brendan's Donor Circle
Sep 13, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has transplanted a 74 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Sep 11, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 23 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Sep 11, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 79 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Aug 05, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 69 year old woman battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jul 15, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 74 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jun 09, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 5 year old girl battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
May 26, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 68 year old man battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
May 23, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 73 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
May 06, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 64 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
May 05, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 36 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Mar 08, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 73 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New transplant in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jan 18, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has transplanted a 69 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jan 11, 2022

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 71 year old woman battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Dec 31, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 71 year old man battling Inherited Erythrocyte Abnormality.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Nov 24, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 65 year old man battling Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Nov 23, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 55 year old man battling Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Oct 28, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 69 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Oct 24, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 68 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Oct 07, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 33 year old woman battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Sep 23, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 73 year old woman battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Aug 11, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 62 year old woman battling Severe Aplastic Anemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Aug 02, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 69 year old man battling Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jul 21, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 1 month old boy battling Inherited Immune Systems Disorders.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jul 15, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 24 year old man battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jul 01, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 0 month old boy battling Inherited Immune Systems Disorders.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jun 29, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 78 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
May 11, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 16 year old boy battling Severe Aplastic Anemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Apr 30, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 48 year old man battling Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Apr 23, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 58 year old woman battling Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Mar 26, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 15 year old boy battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Mar 18, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 19 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Mar 17, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 28 year old man battling Hodgkins Lymphoma.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Mar 09, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 62 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Feb 10, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 61 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jan 29, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 68 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Jan 26, 2021

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 69 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Dec 23, 2020

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 68 year old woman battling Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.

New transplant in Brendan's Donor Circle
Nov 30, 2020

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has transplanted a 63 year old woman battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.

New match in Brendan's Donor Circle
Oct 01, 2020

A donor sponsored by Brendan's Donor Circle has matched a 48 year old man battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.