I haven't been doing a lot of running this week due to some professionally related training sessions I've been attending, but I did go to a Team In Training event last night designed to raise awareness around bone marrow tissue typing.
I donated my tissue to the national bone marrow donor registry. It was a quick, painless process that took all of 15 minutes or so — and most of that was for filling out forms. I just swabbed the insides of my cheeks as if I were brushing my teeth. It was that easy! I'd encourage all of you (if you're between the ages of 18-60) to find a local drive in your area to donate your tissue to the national registry. You can also order a tissue typing kit through the mail. There are lots of patients out there who need bone marrow transplants and can't find matches. You could help save a life!
"Donated bone marrow must match the patient's tissue type. It can be taken from the patient, a living relative (usually a brother or a sister), or from an unrelated donor (found through the national marrow donor program). Donors are matched through special blood tests called HLA tissue typing." (US National Library of Medicine/MedLine Plus) "A tissue type test is a blood test that measures substances called antigens on the surface of body cells and tissues. Checking the antigens can tell if donor tissue is safe (compatible) for transplant to another person." (WebMD)
My First Marathon 