But he's received an infusion of the donor's bone marrow cells to further prevent rejection of his new arms.

CNN: Iraq vet undergoes successful double-arm transplant

To join the national bone marrow donor register call the Anthony Nolan Trust on 0901 88 22 234.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Battling to beat black transplant odds

My dream is to give Mom the gift of life -- in the form of a bone marrow donor.

CNN: My mom needs you: Nalini's story

"As long as I live, I know I'll never do anything as important as becoming a bone marrow donor, " he said.

BBC: Georgia

The top item on the bucket list was the hope that everyone in the UK would sign up as a bone marrow donor, an aspiration which Prime Minister David Cameron praised in the House of Commons.

BBC: Alice Pyne and her sister, Milly

Being a bone marrow donor is easy.

CNN: My mom needs you: Nalini's story

That search is conducted largely through the National Marrow Donor Program, which maintains a registry of bone-marrow donors.

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But for this surgery, the Pittsburgh doctors would also transplant bone marrow from the donor to reduce the amount of immunosuppressants Kepner would have to take.

CNN: Pastry chef receives double hand transplant

He also received bone marrow from the deceased donor of his arms, a therapy intended to help his body accept the new limbs with minimal medication.

BBC: Brendan Marrocco, US quadruple amputee, gets new arms

The widely publicized patient, Timothy Brown, was treated for leukemia with a bone marrow transplant that happened to come from a donor with a genetic mutation that makes immune cells resist HIV infection.

MSN: Two more men with HIV now virus-free. Is this a cure?

The odds were best with a donor of his ethnicity, and there were few South Asians in the national bone-marrow database.

NEWYORKER: Small Change