Yes I overreact… Be A Match!

[flatlan]

Let us know what happens! I have been on the list for about 2 years and they have never called me.

[Deleted]

I've been on for 4 yrs and never been called..

[gtkim]

I've been called once.  I had to go have some blood drawn for further testing and I didn't get any farther along than that.

[zarapipe]

Apr 17, 2014 17:46:00 GMT -5 @bluesky said:

Okay so I called.  They wanted some detailed survey type questions answered.  There was about 10 questions and they all related to my seriousness in donating.  On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being I'm 100% sure and 5 being that I'm not sure at all.  I answered 1 on 9 of the questions but on the 10th I answered a 2.  It was asking if I was 100% sure I'd go through with it.  I am not 100% sure because I'd want to discuss with my doctor first.  But now I feel that was a dick move on my part to answer a 2 because of course they are considering my health first.  

Do you guys think this call is normal for all registered people now?  …or is it likely they are narrowing down some matches?  I wish I knew!

Interesting. I joined two years ago and didn't have that. I would guess it would be a huge amount of people to call and the chances of you being matched is very slim, obviously by the time and if you are matched your answers could change.

[mellymel]

I have been on the Be the Match registry since 1998. In the past two years I have actually been called twice as a potential match. Both times the first call was a quick health questionnaire and verification of my commitment to donate. I've never made it past that step. Sometimes it's because the patient doesn't move on to the transplant step or there is a better match for the patient.

Good luck, keep us posted!

[mcfelix]

Crazy - I was also contacted today! Same thing - I called back, was asked if I'm still willing to donate after they described the two different procedures, asked some medical history questions, etc. They also asked if I plan to get pregnant in the next 6 months, since that would eliminate me.

They asked if I could provide a medical record of my blood type and send back. She told me that if I don't hear back from them in the next two months I am no longer being considered as a match for the current patient.

[winecat]

I've been on the list for 20 or so years and have never been contacted. I hope you get to help someone!

[lightbulbsun]

Apr 17, 2014 17:20:55 GMT -5 gtkim said:

I've been called once.  I had to go have some blood drawn for further testing and I didn't get any farther along than that.

Same here.  I think they call in top matches, and try and get as perfect as possible.

[holly116]

Apr 17, 2014 17:46:00 GMT -5 @bluesky said:

Okay so I called.  They wanted some detailed survey type questions answered.  There was about 10 questions and they all related to my seriousness in donating.  On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being I'm 100% sure and 5 being that I'm not sure at all.  I answered 1 on 9 of the questions but on the 10th I answered a 2.  It was asking if I was 100% sure I'd go through with it.  I am not 100% sure because I'd want to discuss with my doctor first.  But now I feel that was a dick move on my part to answer a 2 because of course they are considering my health first.  

Do you guys think this call is normal for all registered people now?  …or is it likely they are narrowing down some matches?  I wish I knew!

I got on the registry last fall and I remember this phone call. I think it's just to gauge how serious you are? I haven't heard anything since.

[Brie]

I've been on the register since my 18th birthday and have never gotten more than a "please confirm your email" contact.

[Deleted]

I got a call last year about being a match. I never got questions like that. She just said I was selected as a match and would I undergo further testing. She also explained the donation process to me because I had some concerns since I was bfing. I went to labcorp and took some blood tests. I never got past that point.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

[njohnson1972]

I have been on the list for 20 years. Never been called

[mrshabious]

As someone who is potentially facing a bone marrow transplant, thank you all for joining be the match. If you are chosen, I hope you are able to go through with it. You literally would be saving someone's life.

[lahoagie]

I've been on the list for about 5 years and have never been called. I did get an e-mail that said based on whatever information that they get from the check swab I have a rare type. I wish I could find the e-mail. Has anyone else gotten an e-mail like that?

[BeagleMama]

That's exciting!

Don't feel silly if you and your doctor decide not to proceed at this time. I was in a similar position last year where they called and I had to decline the next step of testing. They were very nice, appreciated my honest response and put my registry info "on hold" for a year until I would be ready again.

They really do want to know if you're serious and it's good to be sure before using their time and resources for blood testing, etc.

Good luck!

[itsme]

I was called within a year of signing up. I was a potential match. I did the survey and then a few months later received a letter stating that either they found an even better match or the patient chose another course of treatment.

[Norticprincess]

I only know from the patient side, I was on the registry for about 10 years before I ended up on the other side - no contact aside from please update your contact info/is your contact info correct.
Depending on center( for the two I dealt with) - they start with the top 4-6 matches the software pops up with and predicts should have the best stats for being a match. They contact those people for more info/ability to donate/current health issues/etc. from there pick the best ones to bring in for blood tests to do high resolution matching on the predicted matches. The national registry low res match out of 8 HLA markers, the high resolution markers are 10/12varies by center.

I had a few 7/8 matches that showed in the registry, the higher res had more mis matches. Part of the reason went with the Haplo (half) match with my sister. 6/12 match with it being a related half match, fewer issues than a mismatched unrelated donor.