Sunday, October 09, 2011

Ever Thought About Being a Bone Marrow Donor?

Years ago, long before I was diagnosed, I registered my bone marrow. Now of course, it doesn't matter if I match a dozen people.....no one wants my myeloma filled marrow.

My transplant was an "auto", meaning they took my own myeloma and used it after high dose chemo. But some people can't do "auto", they are "allo"s. They need matches. And sometimes those matches are hard to find.

But tomorrow there will be a drive to register down in Connecticut.

This email is from someone in my support group -
A Young Mother in Our Community is in Need of a Match.

Is the "needle in a haystack" among us at Yale? Help us find out on Monday, October 10th at Slifka Center.

A member of our community - an alumna of the Yale School of Public Health, the spouse of a Yale graduate student, a leader in our Jewish community, and mother of a nine-month-old baby - is searching for a bone marrow transplant match. And Slifka Center is rallying Yale's Jewish Community to help find him or her.

Working with Gift of Life, a nationwide public bone marrow matching organization, we have the opportunity to register 500 potential donors immediately to help her search for a transplant needed in her battle againstacute myelogenous leukemia (AML). It all starts with finding a match.

Please donate: The laboratory fee required for processing each registration is $54, but we have arranged with Gift of Life that up to 500 registrations will be processed immediately without waiting for the fees. We promised Gift of Life that we would ask our community to support this incredible effort with a donation. Please visit Bone Marrow Registration Drive to make a gift of any amount today. 100% of the proceeds from these gifts will go directly to Gift of Life.

Thank you for your compassion.

1 comment:

Charity said...

I have to admit, since "knowing" you, I've sincerely considered registering. Once BJ gets back, I might just do it.