Urgent need for Bone marrow Donor testing

[strmtroopr96]

Another Bump

 

[MyZoeJane]

I am hoping that a drive that a friend of mine is trying to organize comes through... Otherwise, I'll be paying for the kit to send in myself. This is too important not to do. I'm ashamed I have not made it more of a priority and had it done years ago.....

 

[TenThousandVolts]

How do you register? I browsed that site in the OP but didn't see it.

 

[sl_underwood]

We are also in the registry since our dd was diagnosed with aplastic anemia (another blood disorder) and transplant seemed to be a good option. We didnt match for her but are more than willing to help another. I am thankful to all who donate blood as well, especially since dd had to have transfusions, still may need a few platelets while her body works at creating healthy cells. Thanks to everyone who is willing to donate blood, marrow, etc... You all are really doing a wonderful thing.

 

[HappyGilmore]

Please keep this bumped and thanks in advance.

I don't know if any of you have been following Ethan Powell's story, but he was diagnosed with leukemia at 2 months of age. He is now 4 months old and needs a bone marrow transplant. There is no match so far and his family is in desperate need of more people to register to find a match, they have asked for volunteers to co-ordinate bone marrow registry drives and have also asked for people to contact Oprah in the hope of having 2 million people register as donors. Ethans website is updated daily-

http://www.ethanpowell.com/Encrypted.cfm?id=121

I have contacted Ethan's dad, Ben, and he has asked that I get as many people as possible to email Oprah. Below is a link to the form you need to fill out and then just copy and paste the below info ( I have already edited it to make it under the 2000 character limit) into the 'tell us your story' section. If you could just take 5 minutes of your time it may help.

https://www.oprah.com/plugger/templates/BeOnTheShow.jhtml?action=respond&plugId=B2100004

I have an angel in need of your attention. His name is Ethan Powell. To date, 4 month old Ethan has graced this earth and has brought immeasurable joy and hope into the lives and hearts of those who know him. Unfortunately, with much joy can come much pain. On February 6, 2007, Ethan was diagnosed with Leukemia. He had 1.6 million white blood cells at diagnosis (a high white blood cell count being around 30,000.) Ethan is facing his last few days of life without your intervention.



He needs a bone marrow transplant. Because of a rare HLA marker that he has, Ethan’s match was not found in the entire national database. If we are able to recruit over 2 million donors in the next 5-6 weeks, we increase his chances of finding a match drastically. It is critical that everyone who hears, reads, and sees Ethan’s story respond immediately by contacting the nearest bone marrow drive agency and become a donor. We believe that it is possible to reach the number of people it will take to save Ethan’s life with your help.



You inspire people from all over the world. Please inspire them to help save this precious little boy- and help the many others in need of transplants..



If two million people sign up to be bone marrow donors, it could help Ethan, as well as countless other children in similar situations. Ethan’s rare genetic structure makes finding a match difficult, but there are many other children who don’t have matches as well.

Please hear our desperate cry for help. Our faith is firmly planted and our hope remains in the kindness of the human spirit. This little boy needs help now. We pray that you will contact the family, and help get this message to your loyal viewers.

With love,





For more information about Ethan’s journey, please visit: www.ethanpowell.com for the full story and daily updates.

Also, if you are not already registered as a donor, please consider doing so, you might save someone's life.If you think you can do anything else, please visit Ethan's site and email the appropriate people.

 

[virgojmk]

May is national bone marrow month. Usually they have free drives during this time. While I was doing my caringbridge rounds this morning found one that had the link to the Thanks Mom drives http://www.marrow.org/NEWS/Events/Thanks_Mom/index.html. Apparently, you can sign up and a kit can be sent to you for a cheek swab. They also have listing of bone marrow drives in your area (there are actually 3 coming up within 10 miles of my home, maybe I can get DH to do it, DD wants too, but she is only 12). You just need to be between 18 and 60 and in good general health.