Thanks for sharing a touching story - a bit of quick digging came up with the new Canadian equivalent:
Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
11–20 of 101 posts
Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#12Ouch. To the extent it's still relevant in the modern world, our postal system really needs to work a little more like the phone system. I can be pretty much anywhere in the US (or really, the world, if I want to pay international roaming fees), someone can dial my well-known phone number, and my phone will ring. For ordinary first class mail, I should be able to generate unique ID numbers on the USPS's website, and…
Isn't that essentially what a PO Box is? The only caveat with a PO Box is that it's specific to a zip-code, but the principle is the same. I can't help but think that there might be a business idea wrapped up in there somewhere, or at the very least, another product for USPS to offer.
There are mail forwarding services out there already, but they cost money and exist at the whim of private enterprises that could disappear at any time.
Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#13"At the time, the only way to donate marrow was to basically have someone drill holes in your bones and drain your skeleton, which kind of terrified me. Nowadays, of course, most donations require nothing more than sitting still for a few hours with an IV watching television." That actually isn't really true. Marrow donations still require anesthesia and a surgical procedure. In the interest of providing full informa…
From your second link:
PBSC donation is a non-surgical procedure done in an outpatient clinic. PBSC donors receive daily injections of a drug called filgrastim for five days, to increase the number of blood-forming cells in the bloodstream. Then, through a process called apheresis, a donor's blood is removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is returned to the donor through the other arm.
Speaking to the marrow.org representative, she said that these days it's about 75% PBSC (sitting in a chair watching TV), 25% outpatient surgery (which is easier now than it was 16 years ago, but still daunting).
Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#14Ouch. To the extent it's still relevant in the modern world, our postal system really needs to work a little more like the phone system. I can be pretty much anywhere in the US (or really, the world, if I want to pay international roaming fees), someone can dial my well-known phone number, and my phone will ring. For ordinary first class mail, I should be able to generate unique ID numbers on the USPS's website, and…
Isn't that essentially what a PO Box is? The only caveat with a PO Box is that it's specific to a zip-code, but the principle is the same. I can't help but think that there might be a business idea wrapped up in there somewhere, or at the very least, another product for USPS to offer.
ups offers mail forwarding for mailboxes at their stores - http://www.theupsstore.com/products-services/mailbox/Pages/i...
some other smaller companies do receiving and forwarding, some will even scan the mail you receive so you can view it online and see whether it's junk mail or not - http://www.virtualpostmail.com/
Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#15Canada http://www.onematch.ca/ http://www.blood.ca/CentreApps/Internet/UW_V502_MainEngine.n... The first site is supposed to be more current, but isn't rendering properly for me on Firefox. On the second site, Scroll to the bottom for the button to start the process. UK http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/bonemarrow/qa/index.asp#howcan It appears that you opt-in when you donate blood. I don't see mention of an at-home swab progr…
Also for Germany: https://www.dkms.de/
Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#16Thanks for sharing a touching story - a bit of quick digging came up with the new Canadian equivalent: http://www.onematch.ca/
Thanks. Updated the links post.
Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#17This inspired me to register, but once again I was thwarted by the US' arcane rule banning gay men from donating. The rule applies despite the fact that I've been monogamous for ages and am tested for everything under the sun twice a year.
A college frat boy who has had unprotected sex with a different girl every week for the past semester can give blood/marrow, but monogamous, healthy gay men can't. I don't get it.
Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#18Canada http://www.onematch.ca/ http://www.blood.ca/CentreApps/Internet/UW_V502_MainEngine.n... The first site is supposed to be more current, but isn't rendering properly for me on Firefox. On the second site, Scroll to the bottom for the button to start the process. UK http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/bonemarrow/qa/index.asp#howcan It appears that you opt-in when you donate blood. I don't see mention of an at-home swab progr…
Also for Germany: https://www.dkms.de/
Thanks, updated.
Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#19Ouch. To the extent it's still relevant in the modern world, our postal system really needs to work a little more like the phone system. I can be pretty much anywhere in the US (or really, the world, if I want to pay international roaming fees), someone can dial my well-known phone number, and my phone will ring. For ordinary first class mail, I should be able to generate unique ID numbers on the USPS's website, and…
according to the story, the post office did better than any phone provider would. he moved to a new location, maybe years later, and a piece of mail still followed him to his new address. i'm sure the registry gets notified of forwarding address changes for people on their lists, so they could in theory keep up with you even if you moved a bunch of times (as long as you forwarded from at least your last address). if…
It appears to not have been the post office that "did better than any phone provider would":
> Did you know that, when the marrow donation center finds a
> match, they try desperately to reach the potential donor? Even
> if that person has moved from their dorm room long ago, even if
> their contact information has changed, even if they’re in a
> different state, even if 16 years have passed? They try. They
> look all over for ways to reach that person.Re: Saving a Life is Easy, But I Didn't
#20Ouch. To the extent it's still relevant in the modern world, our postal system really needs to work a little more like the phone system. I can be pretty much anywhere in the US (or really, the world, if I want to pay international roaming fees), someone can dial my well-known phone number, and my phone will ring. For ordinary first class mail, I should be able to generate unique ID numbers on the USPS's website, and…
http://www.earthclassmail.com/ would help with this kind of problem.