Maile is 3 years old.
She’s a beautiful little girl of Filipino and Hispanic descent and she was diagnosed with infant ALL (atype of Leukemia). She loves Dora and polka dots! After several bouts of chemotherapy, Maile’s best treatment plan would be a marrow/stem cell transplant.
Maile and many others like her need to find a matching marrow/stem cell donor immediately. At any given time, there are over 6,000 people diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disease that are searching for a matching marrow/blood stem cell donor. Many of them cannot find one simply because there isn’t enough diversity on the registry.You could be that person to save another person’s precious life.
What you can do to help.
Registering to be a potential donor takes just 10-15 minutes to fill out a form and swab your cheek. If you are identified in the future as a match for a patient, doctors will conduct further evaluation and plan to collect stem cells (refilled by your body afterwards) from your hip or the blood stream. You may experience slight discomfort after the donation such as temporary soreness lasting a few days, but in turn you will have saved someone’s life.Ethnicity is the Key Factor.
There is a severe shortage of diverse and ethnic minority donors (Multi-racial, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic and Chicano, African American, Native American) on the National Registry. Because of this shortage, many patients like Maile cannot find their matches.Did you know?
When you register as a donor, and if you are found to be a match for someone, 70% of the time, you are asked to donate your blood stem cells simply through your blood?Register as a potential Adult Blood Stem Cell Donor
December 18, 2008 (11am – 3pm)
At the Sun MPK cafeteria near the Drop-In Center.
It takes 10 minutes of your time, and a cheek swab.
What are the restrictions for bone marrow doners. Do diseases such as diabetes eliminate you?
Posted by paul coffer on December 18, 2008 at 07:38 PM EST #
It is best to check with the organization doing the screening as they are the most knowledgeable and up to date on restrictions.
Posted by Julie Smith on December 22, 2008 at 02:58 PM EST #