I've been a fan of Help Remedies ever since I saw their simple, modern, clean packaging in the drugstore a few years ago. Aside from the pretty exterior, I can really get behind the company's mission: Take less (as in drugs). The people who founded Help believe that we don't need over-the-counter drugs as often, or in as high quantities, as we purchase them. Besides that, most OTC drugs have several active ingredients, whereas Help remedies have only one active ingredient, and no gross dyes or coatings.
Now, Help has partnered with DKMS, the world's largest bone marrow donation center, to get more people to register for donation. To quote Help, "Sorry you cut yourself, but maybe something good can come from it!"
Normally, the registration process involves swabbing one's cheek with a q-tip and simply sending the sample in, but Help worked with DKMS to make a good thing out of a bad situation. All you have to do is put a tiny bit of blood onto the swab and mail in the kit.
When my brother was ill, and we were looking ahead to what happens after chemo and hopefully remission, we learned the next step for people with blood cancer is often to get a bone marrow transplant, so that the blood is replenished with healthy new cells from a donor. The really scary part is, the potential donor has to be a genetic match, and if you can't find one in your family (only a 30% chance), that's not such an easy task. There's an especially grave shortage of donors for racially and ethnically diverse patients. Many people simply never find a donor in time.
I'm so glad to see creative minds tackling the huge problem of how to get more people added to the registry; I'd like to see more of this kind of thinking. How simple would it be to add thousands to the registry if, at every doctor's office or hospital, you were asked if you'd like to donate by simply swabbing your cheek?
If you're chosen, donating is a safe process involving a simple surgical procedure (during which general or local anesthesia is used). If you're healthy and willing, you could be chosen to help save someone's life. How miraculous would that be?
P.s. If you're bored at work (I won't tell), have some fun playing around on Help's hilarious website.
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