MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, -- Navy Lt. Cmdr. Cindy F. Campbell knows what it feels like to lose someone to cancer. Now, she's doing everything she can to prevent anyone else from experiencing the same feeling.

Campbell held a conference aboard Camp Pendleton May 14 to increase awareness about how easy bone marrow donations are and why they are important.

"My shipmate died of leukemia many years ago," said Campbell, director of Administrative Services at the White House. "He could have lived, somebody out there matched him. He was 33 years old and left a wife and two small children."

The loss of her friend fuels Campbell's goal of finding as many bone marrow donors as she can. There are others like her shipmate who need help, and with the simplicity of the donating process, she doesn't see why they can't be helped.

"Bone marrow donation is easier than ever," Campbell said. "There is a new way to extract bone marrow."

The new process is similar to giving blood. The only real difference is blood is taken from one arm and then sent back into the donor's system through the other arm. A machine spins the blood to pull bone marrow out before it returns to the body.

"The process takes about two hours," Campbell said. "You watch a movie and are fed cookies throughout the process. It's that easy."

The hardest part of donating bone marrow is finding people who match the same bone marrow specifications as hopeful recipients. Cotton swabs are all they need to see if a match can be made. Someone looking to donate swabs the inside of his cheek, and even if it's a match the person is still not required to donate.

Unfortunately, the chances of someone matching are less than two percent.

"The (Department of Defense) will pay all expenses for the procedure, including a spouse or friend to accompany you," Campbell said. "The procedure takes place at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Although it is only a few hours, you are given five days in a hotel, all expenses paid for two."

After the procedure is complete, donors often feel side effects similar to the flu.

However, the discomfort fades away, and the donor can feel good knowing he helped save a life.

Convincing people to donate isn't too hard once they are informed about the difference they could make in a family's life.

At the conference, Marines and Sailors learned about the process and can now pass on the knowledge.

Passing on what they learned is important because the more people who sign up, the greater the ability to reward someone a second chance in life.

"You never know who youÕre going to help," said Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Kristopher M. Baskett, a 21-year-old hospital corpsman from Mexico, Miss. "It could be your kid one day."