OT: Get Swabbed: Help A UM Student Get A Bone Marrow Transplant
My roommate and one of my best friends, Daniel Lee, was diagnosed with aplastic anemia over Xmas break. His condition has worsened and now he desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. I'm calling out to all members of the board who live in or near the Ann Arbor area to get swabbed (it's just a cheek swab and it's non-evasive) tomorrow from 10am-4pm in the AB Anderson Room in the Union.
If you are able to do this, you not only improve Dan's chances at recovery, but also thousands of others who need similar help.
Here is a link to the facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/events/276319379101060/
Thanks.
February 14th, 2012 at 11:45 AM ^
Link to the National Bone Marrow Registry for those who can't make it to Ann Arbor: http://marrow.org/Home.aspx. Very quick and easy to get registered.
Good luck to you and your friend.
February 14th, 2012 at 11:55 AM ^
Thanks for posting this - It would be amazing if this blog's membership, spread across the entirety of the US and even internationally, could help this young man. I'm certainly going to pursue this further and see if I can get "swabbed" in Phoenix.
February 14th, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
- If you registered years ago, your record is still valid. Your HLA type information DOES NOT CHANGE. However, your contact info may have changed. If this is the case, then they will have no way to contact you if you're a match. Therefore, call the national bone marrow registry (now know as "Be the Match") and confirm your registration and update your contact info.
- If your roommate, Daniel, is Asian, then there is a higher likelihood of finding a match within the Asian population. However, Asians also tend to be massively underrepresented in the registry. So get on your horse and register! This is not just for Daniel, but I also have a good friend whose son has cancer (relapse) and is also in need of a bone marrow transplant, assuming he makes it through chemo. It's a tough situation to be in, and hits very close to home.
- I've included a couple of links to friends' websites (both affected by cancer) with good information, as well as the potential to really tug at your heartstrings. GET INVOLVED!
http://andrewsfightonestepatatime.blogspot.com/
http://www.seeingjesusineverything.blogspot.com/2012/02/prayer-request-bone-marrow-update.html#more
February 14th, 2012 at 3:45 PM ^
Thanks for the information on updating contact information. I got swabbed a couple of years ago and wasn't sure if they had anything on me anymore. But now I should be good to go if they need me.
February 14th, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^
Can we just show up and get swabbed or do we have to sign up beforehand? I'll try to pop in between classes tomorrow.
February 14th, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
You can just show up. You'll register there. The entire process itself doesn't take more than 10 minutes, although time waiting in lines is variable.
February 14th, 2012 at 2:08 PM ^
Good idea. I have a friend who recently had a marrow donation to help her medical issue and she asked everyone to sign up at www.bethematch.org I registered and within 2 days they sent me my swab kit which you can do at home.
Really good idea to improve awareness of the marrow registry list. So many people need help, and it's easy to save a life.
February 14th, 2012 at 2:10 PM ^
Hmm, not sure why my URL didn't work. It redirects to www.marrow.org though. Maybe that link will help. It all goes into the same national database, I just wanted to provide the option for MGoBloggers to have the swabs sent to their house for convenience.
February 14th, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^
I just registered with marrow.org yesterday and will be receiving the cheek swab kit soon. I encourage everyone to do the same!
February 14th, 2012 at 3:23 PM ^
Registration Completed
Thank you! You have completed your online registration for the Be The Match Registry®.
February 14th, 2012 at 4:11 PM ^
I was good friends with Daniel in HIgh School at Andover, we lost touch and I had no clue about this. I want to help any way I can but I'm in Los Angeles, is there something I can do?
February 14th, 2012 at 4:33 PM ^
If you're not already registered, do it! Also, encourage your friends, family, co-workers, etc to register. If you go to church or are involved in any clubs, encourage them to register. A cheek swab is really completely painless.
This is one of thost things that is often not thought about until someone close to you is affected. If you feel really strongly about it, you can help organize a registration drive. These often work really well at offices, churches/other places of worship, even small businesses with a lot of walk-in traffic (dry cleaners, drug stores, etc).