Join the Marrow Donor Program
How to Join the Donor Registry
Joining the Be The Match RegistrySM is a simple process and requires only a small donation of saliva (through a buccal swab) and completion of our donor consent form.
To join the National Marrow Donor Program's Be The Match Registry at Dana-Farber, or for more information:
Phone: (866) 875-DFCI (3324) or (617) 632-2561
E-mail: nmdpdonor@dfci.harvard.edu
If you're in the Boston area, you can make an appointment and come in to Dana-Farber.
If you are outside Boston but live in New England, we can send you a buccal swab kit to complete at home.
If you're outside New England, please visit the National Marrow Donor Program Web site to find the donor center closest to you. If there is no donor center in your area, we can register you as a distant donor.
We also host marrow drives throughout New England. Check our calendar of upcoming donor drives.
You can join the Be The Match Registry as a potential donor if you are between the ages of 18 and 60 and are in good general health.
Your commitment as a donor
Becoming a volunteer donor is a serious commitment. If you join the registry you are asked to stay committed to donating to any anonymous patient, anywhere in the world, regardless of the patient's sex, age, race or ethnicity. You will remain on the registry until your 61st birthday.
Sometimes a potential donor who is successfully matched with a patient may decide not to go forward with the procedure. There are many reasons for saying no, including illness, amount of time involved, changes in your life, or even fear of the donation process. As a volunteer, the donor is under no form of legal obligation.
However, because a late decision not to donate can be life threatening to the patient, we ask that you seriously consider the commitment you are about to make before you join the donor registry. Changing your mind at the last minute may be fatal to the patient awaiting the transplant.
Many people contacted to be marrow or PBSC cell donors experience some hesitation, which is perfectly natural, as donation is a serious commitment. But, most decide to go ahead with the procedure once they balance all the facts and consider what their decision will mean to themselves and the recipient.
Please also consider joining the Be The Match Registry through platelet donation at our Kraft Family Blood Donor Program. Platelets are a component of the blood that causes clotting. They are essential to the treatment of individuals fighting cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, patients undergoing chemotherapy, recipients of organ transplants, and those who suffer loss of blood during surgery.
Platelets have a shelf life of only five days, so new donors are always needed. By becoming a platelet donor, you can help patients now.
When you donate platelets three times at Dana-Farber, the donor program offers the opportunity to register you with the Be The Match Registry. There is no cost when joining the Be The Match Registry through the platelet donor program.
Learn more about platelet donation at the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center
Cost to join the donor registry
When you join the Be The Match Registry, you could be the one to save a life. The total cost to add a member to this life-saving registry is about $100. Please consider joining others and contribute what you can to make it possible for more people like you to join in the future. Your generous tax-deductable contribution to DFCI/NMDP will help add more members to the registry, giving more patients hope for a cure.
If you have health insurance within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the State of Rhode Island, or the State of New Hampshire, the cost of the test may be covered. By utilizing your insurance, you again make it possible for others to join the registry. Please check with your insurance company. Deductibles and co-insurance do apply.
If you do not have applicable health insurance, the financial contributions of other donors and organizations will cover the cost of your tissue typing.
After the initial typing and registration to join the Be The Match Registry, there is no cost to the donor at any time. If you are identified as a donor match for a patient, all medical and non-medical expenses as a result of your marrow or PBSC donation will be covered by the NMDP and the patient's insurance.
