Cancer is a devastating disease that touches the lives of millions of people every year. While there is currently no cure for cancer, there are ways to help those fighting this disease. One way you can help is by donating items that cancer patients need, either specifically for their treatment sessions or just to generally make their lives easier. Here are six items that you can donate to help cancer patients:

1. Donate a car for cancer research
You can donate your car, truck, or RV to a kids’ cancer donation or any other cancer donation unit. The funds raised from the sale of your donated vehicle can be used for cancer research, education, and patient services.

2. Donate time or money to a cancer research organization
Many cancer research organizations rely on donations to fund their work. You can help further their work by giving your time or money to St. Jude cancer donation or any other cancer research organization, such as the American Cancer Society or the National Cancer Institute.

3. Donate bone marrow
Cancer patients who need a bone marrow transplant require donor cells from someone with a matching tissue type, which can be difficult to find. You can therefore become a potential life-saver just by joining a bone marrow registry. If you are between the ages of 18 and 44, you can join the Be The Match Registry. If you are between the ages of 45 and 60, you can join the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry.

4. Donate umbilical cord blood
Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of stem cells that can be used to treat leukemia and other blood disorders. If you are having a baby, you can donate your child’s umbilical cord blood to a public cord blood bank. This will help cancer patients and give researchers the opportunity to study cord blood in order to develop new treatments for cancer and other diseases.

5. Hair donation
Many cancer patients lose their hair as a result of chemotherapy. As such, there are several organizations that accept hair donations, from people of all ages and genders, to create wigs that are given to cancer patients. These wigs can give patients hope, strength, and self-confidence as they undergo treatment.

6. Donate blood or platelets

Cancer patients often need blood or platelet transfusions as part of their treatment. Therefore, you can help these patients survive by donating blood or platelets to your local blood bank or hospital. Blood donation is a quick process that takes about an hour, while platelet donation takes a little longer—around two to three hours. During platelet donation, a machine extracts platelets from your blood and then returns the rest of your blood to you. You can donate blood every 56 days and platelets every 7 days and up to 24 times a year.