debutaunt.com

May 5th - 19th Thank Yer Mom by Saving a Life. And Pie.

I had leukemia and needed a stem cell transplant. My awesome brother was my donor. And I am one of the lucky 30% of patients who have a related match from someone in their family (Good Catholic family with six siblings - whew!).

I'm now still alive two years later solely because of my transplant. As of today, literally, I have now lost 30 friends in those 2 years to leukemia or transplant-related complications. I promised my "freakishly strong" friend Brenda Donato that I would never ever ever give up trying to find a cure. That I would never let anyone forget her or what she went through. I made my daughter promise to continue that mission as well. teamzoe.net (she's pretty gung-ho this year & wants to raise $30k)

The National Bone Marrow Program is here to help the many patients who do not have a match. Please consider joining the registry. The procedures for donating are not as hideous or painful as shows like Grey's Anatomy and House show them to be (um, can you say sedation? Painkillers? Apheresis?). My brother did his apheresis and drove from Houston to Austin the same day as his donation. I gave him a lemon meringue pie (per his request) for saving my life. I could never repay his gift to me; except by living a very long, stubborn, happy life. And by trying to spread the word to help others.

(go here to get your own cute blog/myspace widget)

Or a banner:

I'll be writing more posts on the drive. Seriously. If you are not registered, you can register at a donor drive for free AND ONLINE during the Thanks Mom Donor Drive. Just a cheek swab kit mailed to you - kinda like those cool CSI DNA tests.

It sounds scary, but imagine if one of your loved ones (or you) were going to die because they don't have a match. What if you knew that there is someone out there that could save their life? That the donor probably has no clue about the program or that a simple donation of some stem cells (no, not embryos - don't go there) could be their only hope for a cure. Save a life. It's the right thing to do. And you might get pie. Or Pi. Or both (for Kiera)

When you become a bone marrow donor, you join the global movement of more than 10 million donors who stand ready to give someone a future.

That "someone" was once me. I'm so grateful to still be here to talk about it.

And if you end up donating, I promise I will send you a pie!!

My stem cell transplant month posts if you are interested in what happened then.

Mother's Day and Thanks Mom Campaign
May 5 to May 19, 2008
During the two weeks around Mother’s Day, be part of our Thanks Mom awareness and donor recruitment campaign. What better way to say “Thanks, Mom” for giving you life than to share that gift with another person!

During the Thanks Mom campaign, costs to join the Registry are covered by our generous partners and contributors for the first 46,000 who join the Registry. (This includes the first 10,000 who join online.)

Help patients who need a life-saving marrow transplant:

* Join the NMDP Registry. You could be the one to save a life.
* Tell your friends and family others about the opportunity to save a life by sending them an e-mail (upper right corner on this page).
* Give a financial gift. Every dollar you contribute gives patients hope.

You can provide hope to the thousands of patients who need a life-saving marrow transplant.

You are needed

* On any given day, the doctors of more than 6,000 children and adults are searching the NMDP Registry for a life-saving donor.
* Seven years ago Alexandra needed someone—and a donor was there for her. Today, 13 year-old Alex practices karate with her brother Matt, is a voracious reader and loves playing with Rosie & Princess—the beloved four-legged friends in their family.
* Like 70% of patients, Alex and her brother Matt, who has the same disease, did not find someone in their family who matched. Two compassionate people, perhaps someone like you, gave them a chance to grow up, to play…to just be kids.
* Diverse donors are critical. Patients have the best chance of finding a match within their own race.

As Alex and Matt's mom said, “It is a beautiful world when we all work together to make a difference. I will never be able to thank the kids' donors or all of you enough for giving me my children and these priceless lessons. I am just a mother who tried to save a life. Twice.”

Every person deserves the best chance for treatment
The NMDP is dedicated to providing hope and delivering a cure to people who need a life-saving marrow transplant.

You can make a difference.

* Join the Registry. During the two week campaign, our goal is to add 10,000 donors online and 36,000 donors at marrow drives.
* Tell your friends and family by sending an e-mail (upper right corner).
* Give a gift. Raising $100,000 can only be accomplished with your generosity.
* Grow the garden. Add your photo and encouraging message to this virtual Donor Garden, a community passionate about saving lives.

Every donor added and every dollar raised helps save lives.

Please, people. it's the right thing to do.

Posted by debutaunt at May 3, 2008 08:17 PM | TrackBack