Joining the Registry

By joining the NMDP Registry, you agree to:

• Be listed on the Registry until your 61st birthday, unless you ask to be removed.

• Consider donation for any searching patient who matches your tissue type.

• Inform your Donor Center any time your address changes.

You can join the NMDP Registry by having a blood sample tested at a testing location, a bone marrow drive, or through a private testing service.  It often costs approximately $65 to be tested depending on the testing center and the amount of funding they have available.  Sometimes fees may be reduced or completely covered.  Check with your local donor center.  See below for more information on finding your closest donor center.  

 
In Cincinnati

You can be tested at one of the Hoxworth blood centers in greater Cincinnati.  There are eight centers: Anderson, Blue Ash, Central, Downtown, Ft. Mitchell, Ft. Thomas, Tri-County, and Western Hills.  For more information about Hoxworth, to schedule and appointment, or for directions to the location closest to you, visit www.hoxworth.org or call 513-451-0910 or 1-800-830-1091.  

Joining the National Registry at one of these locations may be free if you also donate blood and they have the funding available.  They are only given so much funding each year and they try to spread it throughout the year.  It would be best to call and see what they have available.

 
Donor Centers Elsewhere

To find the donor center nearest to you, go to http://www.marrow.org/cgi-bin/NETWORK/map.pl?ctr_typ=DC and click on your state.  Call the donor center and find where you could be tested as well as any potential fees for being tested.  If there is not a donor center near your area, call the closest one and they may be able to put you in contact with a center that can set up the testing for you.  You can also call 1-800-MARROW-2 (1-800-627-7692).

Bone Marrow Drives

See the Bone Marrow Drives page

Private Donation

If you are interested in being tested to see if you are a match for just Stephen or want the convenience of private testing, you can be tested privately through Orchid Diagnostics for $75.  They send you a test kit that you take to a health care provider or blood center and have a vial of blood drawn.  You then FedEx the sample back to Orchid Diagnostics.  An advantage to being tested privately is that the results are received in as little as 8-21 days, verses 6-8 weeks for many other testing services.  You will also have the option of sending your typing information to the NMDP Registry if you decide that you would like to be on that list. 

The price of the test kit includes shipping the test kit to you, the typing of a sample of blood, and the cost to FedEx the sample to their laboratories.

To order a test kit, go to the following link: http://www.bonemarrowtest.com/getting_tested/pricing_kit_ordering/index.asp?ID=62&ID=133

The test kit to order is the DR molecular test, which costs $75.  This test examines 2 of the 6 markers that they look at to determine a match.  If you were to be a match for these 2 markers, you would then be tested further to see if you also matched the other 4 markers. 

You can also call 800-915-3695 to order a kit by phone.  If you have any questions, ask to talk to Tami Brown.  She has been a great help to me and I am sure that she would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Once the test kit is received and the blood sample drawn, you fill out the Private Testing Requisition.  On this form, you can ask that the results be sent to the donor coordinator at Stephen’s hospital so they can see if you are a potential match for him.  When you order the kit, specify who you are being tested for and the appropriate paperwork should be sent with the kit.