Giving the Gift of Life: Bone Marrow Donor Drive Jan 8

by Elisabeth N. Radow   

(December 15, 2004)  There is so much to celebrate this time of year: family, friends, finding just the right gift for that special someone.  Early in January, Larchmonters will have the opportunity to offer a particularly special gift for one little girl and others like her who are battling cancer.

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As you rush around the Village with last minute shopping, please  shift gears for a minute and walk in the shoes of  Lisa Katz, mom of 13-year-old Amy  (pictured  at right). Amy has leukemia and she needs a bone marrow transplant from a donor who has yet to be found. As parents of healthy children we may find it nearly impossible to imagine what it is like for Lisa, but it’s easy to hope that, if the shoe were on the other foot, the community would come to our aid.

On Sunday, January 8 from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm, Larchmont Temple is holding a bone marrow donor drive  sponsored by Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry to screen  residents age 18 to 60 in hopes of finding a life-saving match for Amy and for some of the 21,000 other Americans whose continuing survival depends upon a bone marrow transplant from a non-relative. This number includes others in Larchmont and throughout Westchester who prefer to remain anonymous but are depending upon the kindness of a stranger to pull them through.

While common ancestry is a strong factor in finding a match,  it’s not always essential. For example, an Orthodox Brooklyn rabbi donated bone marrow that saved the life of a 10-year-old Roman Catholic boy living in Italy; a 35-year-old female attorney from Puerto Rico saved the life of a 6 2-year-old farmer from Iowa---and the list goes on. You never know...so all people are welcome and encouraged to be tested.

 Testing  is free and involves completing a two-sided questionnaire and undergoing a quick, painless swab of cells from inside the cheeks.   People get tested only once in a lifetime. Prospective donors will be entered into the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry ( www.giftoflife.org ) for the benefit of patients worldwide.

If a match is found, donors volunteer for one of two routine procedures: bone marrow is collected from the donor's hip or bone marrow stem cells are collected from the donor’s blood. Either way, the donor’s marrow or stem cells regenerate in a matter of weeks, but the donation is a unique gift, able to save a life in a way nothing else could.

Bone marrow donor Robert Miller,  featured in the Emmy award winning PBS documentary entitled "Gift of Life", will attend the Larchmont drive to share his life-saving experience and answer questions. Mr. Miller sums up his experience as a donor simply: "It is the best thing I've done in my life."

If you’re thinking of becoming a donor in January but have more questions, please visit www.marrow.org for more information, or call Elisabeth Radow at (914) 686-7807.

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