Is it ok to do a karakia when donating?
Absolutely! We know this is an important ritual to lift tapu, so we are happy for you to do a karakia when donating bone marrow
Can I bring my whānau with me?
You are encouraged to bring your whānau to the donor medical interview and to accompany you to NZ Blood Service Rooms for the collection of Bone Marrow cells.
What do we do with your bone marrow after you donate it?
We label every bag with a unique number so that we can match it with tests taken and give the correct product to the right patient.
Bone Marrow donations are carefully handled and treated with respect, and help to save the lives of patients with serious bone marrow diseases, such as leukaemia.
Can I request for my donation to go to only my whānau?
Donors on the registry are those individuals who have volunteered to provide their marrow stem cells to anyone in the world who needs this life saving donation. Each donation given provides a chance to help someone else. One day it could be you or someone in your whānau who may need donated stem cells.
Why do we need more Māori males to join the Registry?
Ancestry plays a big role in finding a matched bone marrow donor. The patient is most likely to match someone of the same ethnicity. In contrast to Māori , European patients have access to more donors via the International Donor Registry
Males are usually preferred as donors for the following reasons 1) they often have veins that are more easily accessed, 2) they have a larger body mass allowing more marrow stem cells to be collected, and 3) importantly they do not develop antibodies against marrow cells that are sometimes generated in pregnancy.
You can join by donating a unit of blood at the NZ Blood Service and letting them know you want to join the Registry at the same time.