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Private HLA Testing -

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the fastest way to be privately tested?

    The fastest way to be tested is to log on to our website at bonemarrowtest.com and order your test kit. Your order goes straight to our processing desk and is sent out the same day (or next business day if you order outside regular business hours). Kashi ships test kits worldwide, and our tracking system will follow your order to its destination.

  • What does the testing price include?

    Kit shipping and handling to the donor, and return shipping of the sample to our lab in Portland, Oregon.

    - Supplies
    - Testing
    - Reporting results to the contact person you designate (physician, search coordinator, etc.)
    - A hard copy or email copy of the donor’s results for their medical records

  • International HLA Testing explained

    Option 1: Request Kashi Clinical Laboratories to send an HLA Test Kit to an address abroad: Kashi can send an actual HLA Test Kit to the donor’s address abroad. This option has an additional charge of $150.00 (USD) to cover shipping and customs handling. Simply go to the "Order Your HLA Test Kit" heading and select either Standard or STAT services and proceed to check out where you will be asked to input your address abroad as the shipping address. The additional $150 will be added to the actual testing cost amount. The international charges and cost of the testing will include: shipping and handling to the donor, return postage envelope back to Kashi, instructions, supplies, testing, reporting of the results to where designated and a hard copy back to the donor.

    Option 2: Receive Collection Instructions and a Test Requisition by email: To save time and the extra international shipping and customs handling costs Kashi offers instructions via email. Once payment is made, donor collection instructions will be delivered via email on how to collect the sample along with the required test requisition form that needs to be filled out and signed by the donor and sent back to Kashi Clinical Laboratories in the United States with the testing sample. Some other points to consider when choosing this option:

    a) When ordering, the email you provide us with will be where the instructions and test requisition will be sent. If the ordering person wants to receive the instructions and paperwork and then forward it on to the donor the ordering person should have their email listed. This is helpful if the ordering person needs to translate the instructions and paperwork. It will also allow the patient to give the donor the necessary information as to where the test results need to be sent. The donor ALWAYS has to sign the Test Requisition and return it with the sample.

    b) If the person receiving the kit knows that the instructions are coming and does not have any issues with translation, the instructions and paperwork can be sent directly to the donor by entering the donor’s email address into the order. Again, all paperwork has to be completed and signed then returned along with the sample.

    c) Please note the potential donor will be responsible for providing postage to ship the sample back to Kashi Clinical Laboratory in the United States.

    We have found a greater success in the return of samples to the laboratory because of less interference from customs officials with this method. If you wish to exercise this option, please proceed by purchasing International Testing.

  • Do I need to be home and sign for my package?

    No, you do not.

  • Once I receive my kit, what information will I need to fill out the paperwork?

    In the designated places on the enclosed test requisition, you will need to provide the following information so that we can forward the results to the patient's doctor or search coordinator:

    - Name and address of facility where the patient is being treated
    - The name of the doctor, transplant coordinator or contact person who will receive the results
    - The contact person's phone number, fax number and email address

    Results will be sent directly to that person upon completion of testing.

  • Will I receive a copy of my own results?

    Yes, you will receive your choice of either hard copy or email copy. Results are normally sent out approximately one week after we send the initial results to the transplant center for the patient.

    Be sure to keep these results with your medical records, as they are an important identifier for you. We advise that you ask your physician's office to scan them into your permanent medical records.

  • What happens once the test results have been determined?

    Once we have completed and reviewed the test results, we send them immediately to the contact person listed on your test requisition.

    - You will be personally contacted only if you are a match.
    - If you are NOT a match, you will receive either a hard copy or email copy of your results from Kashi to place in your medical records.
    - Once Kashi has reported the results, if you are a match, everything is handled by the patient's transplant center.

  • What happens if I am identified as a possible match?

    In most cases, once you are identified as a match, you become part of the treatment and all your costs will be picked up by the patient’s insurance or whoever is paying for the transplant. Check with the transplant team to confirm your status regarding donor costs.

    The initial testing cost is not covered by insurance, as it is considered elective; finding a positive match is very difficult and insurance companies generally are unwilling to pay for it.

    As a potential donor you will receive a physical and a complete medical screening to ensure that you can donate safely. And, medical personnel will determine whether you have any communicable conditions that could harm the patient. Only after this screening will you be deemed a match.

  • Will Kashi put me onto the National Registry?

    No. We test for specific patients only. On the test requisition form that comes with your kit, you will tell us who you want to be tested for and who should receive the results. No other parties are involved.

  • Why does Kashi's test cost so much less than at transplant centers and other facilities?

    Kashi Clinical Laboratories is a primary HLA Testing lab whose core mission is to test for patients who are having transplants. When Dr. Kashi learned how much patients' extended family, friends and supporters were being charged for testing as possible donors -- between $300 and $3,000 at hospitals, doctors' offices and other labs -- she added batch donor testing to her existing lab services, thereby creating a more affordable alternative. Many facilities are not accredited to do HLA Testing, so they subcontract to other labs, increasing costs even more. By doing our own work, Kashi controls those costs.

  • What are my odds of matching?

    Your odds of being a match are best if you are a blood relative, especially a sibling who shares the same mother and father. Some doctors and registries look closely at first and second cousins. If a match is not found within the family, patient care coordinators then turn to national and international registries, to cord blood banks, to persons of the same ethnic background, and finally to the general public.

    Don't be discouraged by the "odds." We at Kashi understand that private, low-cost testing might be your first and best way help, to let you know that you've explored the possibility that you might make a difference.

The information presented in these FAQs is not meant to be, nor should be taken as, medical advice.  Kashi Clinical Laboratories strongly encourages you to consult a qualified physician before using the information, products and services available on this website.

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