Devotional 3-16-13

You May Be the Match Someone is Looking For
My parents raised four children in the United Methodist Church. They taught us that faith was active rather than passive and that it was much more than Sunday morning services. They taught us that “when you live in a community, that community should be better because you live in it”. It was with that sense of service to others that led me more than 10 years ago to get involved in a bone marrow registry. This was an opportunity to serve someone with the anonymity that I prefer.

Recently, I was contacted by the registry and it seems that I am a match for a young woman needing a bone marrow transplant. I was so excited that I read the letter several times to make sure. I called my family to share the good news with them. Then I called the registry to begin the process. It was then that things turned sour for me.

I have prostate cancer. It was detected too late and had spread before I could get the prostate removed. It is incurable but currently in remission. This poses no risk to the marrow recipient, but the process of stimulating cell growth for transplant will undoubtedly bring the cancer out of remission and push it beyond the oncologist’s ability to control it – in short it would be fatal. For this reason, I have been waived and am no longer a suitable donor.

In my nearly 40 years in the medical field, I have heard “well, the odds of finding a match would be better if more people were on the registry” many times. It is being said right now because of my medical problem and truly saddens me. My only recourse now is to champion the cause and challenge all who read this to prayerfully consider registering. I am not endorsing any specific group as they all share resources. I registered through has a website, www.bethematch.com. I registered, and then they sent me the swabs for the DNA testing. Or, just google “bone marrow registry” and you will find many different options.

Someone is counting on you.

Joel Taylor