How can I volunteer for children with leukemia?!

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You can be a "Candystriper" at 16 . Call the volunteer coordinator at your local hospital and tell them you want to work with children if possible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candystripe…

Is there a children's hospital near you? You can try their website and see if they have a high school volunteer program, if you would specifically like to volunteer in an oncology ward. (Children's hospitals have more children's specialties.) You could also try a regular hospital and volunteer to work with kids, even if they don't specifically have leukemia. Or maybe you could volunteer for something like Make a Wish.

Plasma is the liquid part of blood. When you donate plasma they filter out the plasma and put the blood cells back into your body. Same thing with platelets; platelets are cells in your blood that help it clot. You can donate platelets, and they filter out the platelets so you get the other components of your blood back. Donating blood is donating whole blood or all the components of blood. There are different time restrictions for how often you can do each of them. I believe it differs by state but you might have to be 17 to donate blood or blood products. Donating plasma or platelets is great - a lot of people don't know about it, but cancer patients often need them!

Bone marrow is composed of stem cells that make blood cells. You have to be 18 and you sign up for the registry (National Marrow Donor Program) and then if you are potential match, you will get called up to do some medical tests. Eventually, if you are able to do a match, you either donate by a process similar to blood donation in which they filter out stem cells (you have to take a few injections of growth factor before doing this, to increase the number of stem cells circulating in your blood) or by taking bone marrow directly from your hip with a needle (you would be under anesthesia). It depends on the patient and what they need, but the first option is more common today.

I am not sure about volunteering, but I do know the answer to a couple of your other questions.

Donating plasma and blood is two different things, but they are very similar. Blood and plasma are two separate things. See this sight for me details: http://www.donatingplasma.org/whydonate/faq.aspx#6

Donating Bone Marrow is something you can do at 18, but I HIGHLY recommended that you do it once you can. many kids die every year because they are waiting for a bone marrow transplant, but can't find a match because not enough people are on the registry. When you donate bone marrow, it starts with a simple swab of the inside of your mouth, and if you are found to be a match then you have to get bone marrow drawn from your hip, which is a surgical procedure. See here for more details: http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/When_You_re_Asked_to_Donate_fo/Donation_FAQs/index.html

As for volunteering, you can collect stuffed animals and bring them to kids in the hospital. That would be a great service project!