How to Host an Online Marrow Donor Drive

To Set Up
•  Contact a Marrow Donor Program or Recruitment Group
• Create a marketing plan to spread the word about the drive online
• Create a website - CLICK HERE to learn how. Hosting a websites can be free (if a friend has room on their server account) or cost as little as $4.99 per month to host a site with a company like GoDaddy and less then $10 per year to register your url (domain name) somewhere like Namecheap.com.
• Create a blog for free or little cost. - CLICK HERE to learn how
• Create a Facebook Group - The cost is $0 to do this, though a custom url can be registered and used to forward to the facebook group if you want a catchier url. CLICK HERE to learn how
• Create a Twitter account - The cost is $0 to do this. CLICK HERE to learn how

Minimum Cost to host a drive: $0

The beauty of an online drive is the sheer convenience of being able to launch a national or international drive, from wherever you live. The best way to do this is if you already have some type of existing online audience, are able to create publicity through media coverage and if you or another volunteer have existing knowledge in the areas of web design and development and/or blogging.

1. Choose a Donor Program to Partner With
You can set up marrow or stem cells donor drives with National Recruitment Groups like Be The Match or DKMS. If you have local recruitment groups like the AADP you can also contact them for help. Either way all you have to do is let them know that you would like to set up a drive and they will offer suggestions and support to help make your drive more successful.

If your need is critical, they may be able to offer a promo code for expediting the test results that you can include in your publicly about your drive.

They may also be able to help you to create local media interest by sending out a press release to local media.

2. Ways to Publicize Your Drive
Create ways to spread the word about your drive online

3. Make Sure to Include Information about the Donor Registration Process
• Let people know they can order a test kit online or by phone
• Be sure to stress the registering is a pain free process that requires only mouth swabs they rub on their cheeks
• Educate people about key misconceptions like that actual donating if you are a patient's match is relatively pain free and that them most common donation method has changed to PBSC

Using an Online Drive to Encourage Others to Attend Live Drives

Thanks to zip code locater page on the National Marrow Donor Program's "Be The Match" website, you can use a website or blog to help encourage people nationwide to attend live donor drives in the city they live in. CLICK HERE to see this page on the "Be The Match" website.

Mail-in Test Kits that can be Ordered Online

Joining the National Marrow Donor Program is now easier then ever before: People can now order a home test kit online or over the phone. The home kit will be mailed to them, they'll swab their mouth with 4 cotton swabs, return them to the kit and mail them back along with a short registration form. That's it. That's all it takes to join the National Marrow Donor Program. If they are a match they will be contacted by the Marrow Donor Program and more extensive, formal, testing will be conducted at that time.

So if you live in an area of the country that doesn't have a formal marrow donor program to host live drives, a mail in or online drive might be your best option.

Each kit contains 4 swabs.

4 bar code stickers are also included. Each sticker is attached to the end of a swab.

For 10 seconds each swab is gently rubbed on a specific location inside of your mouth.




After rubbing the swab inside of your mouth it is placed into the paper divider that comes with the kit.

Mail the kit back as soon as possible. Your swabs will be analyzed and the results will be added to the national database.