I just donated bone marrow to a complete stranger. AMA

I have been on the stem cell and bone marrow registry for about 3 years now. About two months ago, I was contacted and told I was a potential match for a person with aplastic anemia. This is all I know about the person I donated to. I first went through a really extensive screening process. They wanted to confirm that I was a good match for my recipient. They also wanted to make sure I had no diseases that could be passed on through the donation as well. Screening was overall a rigorous process, and required multiple blood tests and a physical exam.

After the screening process, I had the "harvest" surgery to collect the marrow. This took place last Friday. It took about an hour, and used general anesthetic. The surgery was surprisingly less taxing than expected. Despite taking the bone marrow from my hip, I left the hospital the same day, and didn't need any pain meds (though I am still a little stiff). I also have no scars or open wounds, except for two small puncture wounds on my back (it kind of looks like a vampire bit my ass).

Feel free to ask me anything: about the screening process, the surgery, or just donating in general. It is a really great thing to do, and I encourage everyone to look into it. More information about this can be found at BetheMatch.

1:57pm EST edit: A lot of people have expressed interest in joining the registry. I am really moved that so many of you have done so and signed up. The main thing I wanted to get out of this AMA is to make people aware of marrow donation.

I'll make one last push to Please Please Please join the registry. Marrow donations is a numbers game, and the more people that sign up, the more likely someone is to find a life saving transplant. Minorities in particular need more people to sign up. You don't have to be called up for donating to do a good deed. Just being on the registry, and being ready to receive the call is great thing, and I thank everyone that took interest in joining today.

6:15pm EST edit: Would there be any interest in a Reddit-wide bone marrow registration drive? I was pleasantly surprised about how many people seemed interested joining the database today. It would be for a great cause, and be completely free to all participants. I posted a question in r/askreddit (link) to get some feedback on this.