Marrow of Life

The other day I walked into my office building and noticed a pile of flyers with a smiling, familiar face looking back at me.  I stopped and read that Angela, a woman who works in my building, is searching for bone marrow donors and was holding a potential donor drive in a few days.  I picked up the flyer and went upstairs to read further.  It seemed easy enough, all they need is some cheek cells.  I made a vow to myself to do it.  I've heard that donating marrow could be a real pain...but all I could think was "I'd want someone to do this for me."

So today on my lunch break I went upstairs, filled out a form and gave them my cheek swab.  It felt good to know that even if I could not be of help to Angela, I could potentially help another person.  Cool.

I recognized the two women at the table and came to the conclusion they must work in the buidling, too, and know Angela.  I pointed to the picture of Angela and asked, "I'm curious, does she have bone cancer....?"  One of the women smiled and said "I have leukemia..."  "OH!", I said, "That's you...its weird, I thought the picture looked familiar but now that I see you in person, you are very familiar...I've been in the building for almost 8 years so...I know I've seen you around."     

Angela then told me her story.  She's 30 years old and has been living with this cancer for two years now.  She's been told that a marrow donation is her only hope.  She has three children and the last pregnancy was particularly difficult.  She was put on bed rest for most of it...her daughter was nearly miscarried a few times, but being a fighter, survived and is now a healthy baby girl.  But all the while, even after the mandatory post-baby blood work and the struggles she had with breast feeding...No one realized that her body had been trying to tell her something.  Then she became gravely ill and the diagnosis was made.  Angela gave me a piece of advice that could be life saving for everyone - if you ever have a baby KEEP YOUR UMBILICAL BLOOD.  She wishes she had known that...

There is an important factor that makes her fight even more difficult...she's a little of everything ethnically, but primarily Hispanic.  This narrows her search drastically.  She had 90 members of her family tested who were of age and none of them were a match.  While it is true that some matches have been made between people who are not of the same ethnicity, they are extremely rare.  In the U.S., Caucasians have an 80% chance of finding a match.  But the case is not the same for minorities because of population size.    

Her baby girl clearly takes after her...this woman is a fighter.  So many people with this disease are.  I was blown away by the efforts she and a few volunteers have made through The Icla da Silva Foundation and the National Marrow Donor Program to help find a match for her.  Even though she is fighting for herself at this time, she knows that even if a match isn't found she may help another person have a second chance at life.  The rewards are endless. 

I promised her I would write this post and make it available to the public to help spread awareness about the donor program.  Marrow donors are rare.  There is very little awareness about the need for it and there are all sorts of boogey man tales about how invasive the procedure can be which wiggs people out.  But the truth is, regardless of the amount of time you may have to sacrifice and the VERY minimal pain you must be willing to endure, I imagine the reward of saving a life will stay with you forever.  I hope I have the chance to find out one day.

The links provided in this post can give you more information about how to register as a potential donor or how to make a gift.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.