Helping Save a Life Is Up to You
STORY INLINE POST
Perhaps you have heard from someone close, a family member, a friend, or an acquaintance who is going through a difficult moment related to health. While this is a worrying situation, it pales in comparison to knowing that your life depends on a transplant.
Surely, you have felt a certain degree of helplessness in believing that the possibility to provide help is limited; in fact, you may have wondered what else you could do for someone in that situation. If you think that there is not much you can offer, you are wrong!
Today, thanks to organizations dedicated to joining efforts to help those who require a transplant, it is possible to be part of a chain of support and empathy and do much more than you think.
In Mexico, more and more people seek to promote, through foundations and private organizations, the culture of tissue donation and the contribution of economic resources to social causes. Until a decade ago, more than a hundred entities dedicated to this work were registered in the country and there will be more, once each of us understands that we can do a lot to help save the lives of those who need it most.
Be The Match® Mexico is an innovative nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting donations from all its verticals, which means that costs are considerably reduced by having registered national donors. Likewise, our mission is to accompany the patient, the caregiver, and their families throughout the process, so through our Patient Support Center we provide advice, information, and resources free. In addition, the synergy with the transplant centers, both in the registry of possible donors as well as the economic contributions and support to the patient, are built in the same sense.
The organization offers financial support raised thanks to the benefactors who with their contribution help patients and their families to cover part of the costs of the transplant procedure. This support constitutes a fundamental element so that the efforts they carry out have a positive impact on patients who require financial support to continue living.
Fundraising represents a light of hope for those who struggle to continue alongside those they love, reminding us that today, more than ever, the power to give and share, is in our hands.
Without the support of this type of association, a bone marrow transplant would be almost impossible, since, thanks to this support, part of the costs such as the compatibility samples of the patient and direct relatives can be covered, as well as the transfer, collection, importation, and placing of cells in the hospital where the patient is.
Soon, with the economic contribution of those who join this cause, actions can be taken to find compatible donors of stem cells, finance expenses of patients in the transplant process, conducting registration events of potential donors and develop medical studies of genetic compatibility between donors and patients.
The power to give and share resources also provide positive consequences for those who contribute. On the one hand, it reinforces the commitment that one has when knowing they are part of the solution to a social problem.
In Mexico, for example, there are at least 5,000 new cases of leukemia in children under 18 years old and multiple myeloma represents 8 percent of the different types of cancer in the blood, with at least 2,500 diagnoses per year. This is coupled with the increasing incidence of other blood diseases, such as aplastic anemia.
On the other hand, providing financial resources generates unprecedented personal satisfaction. Few things cause a feeling of well-being with oneself as great as knowing that with our support, we are offering the opportunity to help save lives.
Thanks to the contribution of many Mexican men and women who have joined our cause, it has been possible to participate in 38 transplants since 2017 and daily efforts continue to be made so that more people understand the importance of their contributions. December represents a time of giving; therefore, everyone is invited to be part of our community and offer the best gift: to help save a life.
Although, in our country, we still have a long way to go, since we still do not have a culture that promotes the collection of financial contributions as a habit or a trend that reaches everyone. The work done by organizations like Be The Match® México shows us that it is possible to achieve this.
ABOUT BE THE MATCH® MEXICO
Be The Match® México is a wholly owned subsidiary of Be The Match®. Be The Match® is the world's most diverse registry of potential bone marrow donors, helping people with blood disorders find a genetically compatible donor and receive the transplant they need to survive. In addition, it provides support, accompaniment and financial resources to patients and their families to cover part of the costs of the transplant procedure.
Our organization is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP®), a nonprofit organization that connects patients with their respective donors, educates healthcare professionals and conducts research through from the CIBMTR® (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®), which helps save more lives. For more information, visit our website www.BeTheMatch.org.mx.
References
Mexican Center for Philanthropy.
Government of Mexico
Mexican Gazette of Oncology. The burden of multiple myeloma in Mexico: an epidemiological investigation of the National Health System.
http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?pid=S2565-005X2020000400135&script=sci_arttext
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