I would strongly suggest that they have the courtesy of stating their intention when asking for all that information. It's not difficult.
People are showing up to help and are then subjected to what seems like an interrogation. Even the most helpful soul would raise her eyebrows a few times.
I'm not saying that the information is irrelevant, but each question is there for a reason, why not just state what it is? You were able to do it in a couple of lines, why can't they do the same in the form.
"Disclaimer: Some of the secondary questions in this form might seem intrusive, but we need to make sure that if you're a match we have multiple ways of finding you.
Also, the analysis is lengthy and costly, we use the additional information to filter out samples that are more likely to match our current needs, which helps to speed up this process.
We are aware of the sensitivity of the information you're providing to us and we take your privacy and your confidence to heart. For the same reasons the password you're setting to access your file should be more stringent"
For some reason, nobody complains when they have to fill out the paper equivalent of these web forms. I did, and happily indicated my race too, in a whole room full of people at my company, and nobody was complaining. I think that we're used to filling out much shorter forms on the web, so seeing a long form with a lot of fields there is disconcerting, but the quantity of information they're asking for is on par with most other paper forms I've filled out.
Also, we don't live in a world where DNA sequencing is free. Seems like common sense to fill out your race.
At risk of sounding like an asshole, donating your bone marrow is a pretty damn big deal. What use is a bone marrow "lead" if the person runs the other direction when asked for their SSN.
People generally go in, not really believing that they will match. They think it only happens to others. Their attitude usually changes when this abstract possibility becomes a tangible reality.
Before taking the test: "Ah! I probably won't even be a match. Why bother?"
After being matched: "Shit! Is this for real? A life now depends on ME?"
There's a similar phenomenon when a competitor starts winning and the possibility of him actually becoming champion materializes. Believers come out of the woodwork.
That's why the goal isn't to convince them to give bone marrow, but rather to just see if they match first.
People are showing up to help and are then subjected to what seems like an interrogation. Even the most helpful soul would raise her eyebrows a few times.
I'm not saying that the information is irrelevant, but each question is there for a reason, why not just state what it is? You were able to do it in a couple of lines, why can't they do the same in the form.
"Disclaimer: Some of the secondary questions in this form might seem intrusive, but we need to make sure that if you're a match we have multiple ways of finding you.
Also, the analysis is lengthy and costly, we use the additional information to filter out samples that are more likely to match our current needs, which helps to speed up this process.
We are aware of the sensitivity of the information you're providing to us and we take your privacy and your confidence to heart. For the same reasons the password you're setting to access your file should be more stringent"