I was a bone marrow donor back in 1993 when my older brother had multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer).
The crushing reality was that the bone marrow transplant was ultimately unsuccessful -- at the time the doctors only gave it a 50% chance of working -- and my dearly beloved brother passed about a month later.
Took me several years to come to terms with his passing... and his heroic battle has ultimately been a positive force in my life ever since.
I remain on the national bone marrow registry as a potential donor, and am enrolled as an organ donor... and I've donated blood and platelets at the local blood bank on a semi-regular basis for nearly 2 decades.
Become a donor ... the ultimate act of giving.
www.phillesh.net/philzonepages/heavy_stuff/donorabc.html