Hi Southern CA Folks,
We will be hosting part one of "Marrow For Jillian's Tomorrow", a blood and bone marrow drive for Jillian. It will be:
Friday December 14th
3:00-9:00pm
Torrance High School Annex Cafeteria.
Participants will be asked to fill out a form and take a swab of cheek cells to be analyzed and added to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry. If you are a bone marrow match for someone in need, NMDP will contact you and ask you to donate your bone marrow. Bone marrow is removed from your hip bone using a needle under general or regional anesthesia. You may be a little sore, but you could save a life as a result!
Because bone marrow follows ethnic lines, Jillian's donor must be Caucasian. The family already knows that Jillian's sister, Anna, is not a match. Matt & Michelle encourage EVERYONE to join the registry and save a life in Jillian's honor. They are getting to know a lot of people at the hospital who will have less of a chance simply because only 20% of people in the bone marrow registry are of other ethnic backgrounds.
There is a $25 processing fee for Caucasian donors. People of all other ethnic backgrounds are FREE because there is a federal grant available to pay your fee. At our drive, the Red Cross will pay the fee of the first 60 Caucasian donors willing to also donate blood. To make an appointment to donate blood go to http://www.givelife.org/ and enter the sponsor code = JILLIAN.
We will also be hosting a fundraiser at Pat & Oscar's at Del Amo Mall in Torrance on Thursday November 15th. They will donate 20% of the proceeds from people who bring in our official coupon. This money will go to offset the cost of the $25 processing fees, so hopefully it will be much less for people to participate. We will update you after the fundraiser! To get a coupon, please go to http://www.cdecena.com/jillian/index.htm and click on the link in the lower right hand corner of the page. Feel free to contact me with any questions at carothersann@hotmail.com.
For more information about joining the NMDP registry go to http://www.marrow.org/.
If you are interested in coming to our drive and have not signed up on a list at a Torrance school, please contact me so we will know how many people to expect. We want to make sure that the NMDP has enough staff, kits, and volunteers to help things go smoothly. If you plan to come, please check http://www.marrow.org/ to see if you meet their requirements, bring your driver's license, and contact info (name, phone, number, address, e-mail) of two family/members or friends who could help NMDP contact you should you move or cannot be reached.
If you can not come to this drive, Part 2 will be in San Pedro on January 5th! There will be more information on this drive later.
PLEASE COME!!!! Let's make sure Jillian has a match if she needs it!!!
Thanks,
Ann Gerlach
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5 comments:
Hey there Michelle! We'll be there at the drive. My hubby will donate.... and My son Jeremy turns 18 Dec 4 and is going to join the registry. (We can't donate blood we all lived in the UK from 1990- 1993). Anyhow, he's going to get on the marrow registry and I will be rallying as many people as I can!
Hey Rodilyn, That's awesome! My daughter Annaliese, turns 4 the same day as your Jeremy! Hope you guys are doing well..hi to Jasmine!
Michelle
As of November 11, 2007, I am officially entered in the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). I attended the drive at John Burroughs School in Ladue, MO. The crate marked, “Jillian’s Drive” was almost filled to the top with donor packets waiting to be sent to the lab. After filling out the paper work, swiping my cheeks, it’s not what you think sicko (the other white cheeks), sealed up my envelope, and then placed it in the designated crate with all the other volunteers that had come before me. Let the search for potential matches begin :)
Can anyone register at anytime? I was just forwarded your info from my MOMS club in Valencia and would love to help, but can't make it on the 14th.
Hi Tasha. Thanks for your interest. There will be another drive in San Pedro in January, but if you cannot make that, you can go to www.marrow.org & ask them to mail you a test kit. You swab your own cheek & send it back in. It's very simple (but $54 for Caucasians, tissue typing fee). It is free for minorities as there is such a shortage of those from other ethnicities (bone marrow follows ethnic lines). There may be drives held periodically at local hospitals or churches in your area through which the fee may be reduced or waived. The National Registry at www.marrow.org may have other ideas on how you could do it for a reduced fee. Again, thank you!
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