If you can help save a life, Take action n do it..
I happened to view a video of pia Awal, who was suffering from leukemia @ skool y’day. The video potrayed how leukemia has shattered her dreams making her off-color n bone marrow transplantation is a treatment for it . This video was disclosed to us to acumen d support we cd provide to d ppl suffering from this dreadful disease.
As a part of it, a stem cell match campaign was conducted @ my skool today to find d match for d people suffering from leukemia n r in need of bone marrow or stem cell transplant. I happened to voice out this to one of my close frds y’day ..n I told him tat I wish to register as a donor for it. Then he explicated me …it’s a very complex procedure n u will b carryin pain all thru ur lyf. His words petrified me n I gave up my brain wave’s notion of going to d campaign.but another frd of mine elucidated by putting in..its not really as complex as I picked up n he directed me to go n get my cheek swab done which took me ard 5 mins ..
His words instigated me to make my move for it …n I explored online d bone marrow transplantation procedure and d risks associated with donating bone marrow. I ascertained tat it does not pose any significant problems for d donor as only a small amount of bone marrow is removed. The area where d bone marrow was taken out may feel stiff or sore for a few days, and d donor may feel tired. The donors are back to their usual routine within 2 or 3 days r it may sometimes take up to 3 to 4 weeks. So I thought y don’t I b a donor n went to d fore ..
Lemme throw some lite abt d Natter …
All of us r pretty much aware of leukemia, It is a is cancer tat begins in blood cells resulting in d formation of new cells, when d body does not need 'em, n old cells do not die when they should.
Bone Marrow n Stem cell transplantation is one of d treatments for leukemia. Human stem cell transplantation is used successfully to restore d function of marrow tat has been injured. There r two major types of stem cell transplants: autologous n allogenic. Autologous transplantation uses d patient's own marrow. Such procedures cleanse d marrow of d small proportion of leukemia. An allogenic transplant uses marrow from a donor with d same tissue type as d patient.
More than 35,000 ppl suffering from leukemia r in need of bone marrow or blood cell transplants. While 30 % of patients find a matched donor within their family, the other 70 % must find an unrelated donor. Because tissue traits are inherited, patients are most likely to find a donor within their racial n ethnic community. However, less than 7 % or about 415,000, of d six million donors in d registry r of Asian descent n even fewer are of South Asian descent.
Currently, only 50,000 South Asian Americans r registered as potential bone marrow donors. Since no South Asian countries have yet to officially establish a bone marrow registry, d vast majority of potential donors come from d U.S. With such a small number of registered potential donors, it is extremely difficult to find d right match for a South Asian person who needs a bone marrow transplant. The chances of finding a bone marrow match r between 1 in 20,000 and 1 in a million
Lemme cite the case of Pia Awal, a 29 year-old South Asian-American resident of New Jersey suffered from Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) n was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant.
Pia Awal went to d emergency room in June 2002 after suffering from a fever tat antibiotics couldn’t wipe out n bone pain tat was getting increasingly worse, d last thing she expected to hear was a cancer diagnosis. N when d doctors delivered d news tat her symptoms were d result of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), d 27 year old’s world shifted.
In 2004 when pia’s leukemia returned, and her only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant. Thru her website, n d efforts of her friends n family, Pia helped register tens of thousands of new donors! She found a match for herself n is continuing to recruit donors in India n around d world thru the United South Asian Donor Registry (http://www.matchpia.org/).
In 2004 when pia’s leukemia returned, and her only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant. Thru her website, n d efforts of her friends n family, Pia helped register tens of thousands of new donors! She found a match for herself n is continuing to recruit donors in India n around d world thru the United South Asian Donor Registry (http://www.matchpia.org/).
"Increasing registration in the National Bone Marrow Donor Program dramatically boosts the chances of a match for South Asians around d world in need of bone marrow transplants"
HOW YOU CAN HELP ??
1. Register as a donor. If u'r between 18 n 60, particularly of South Asian descent, please register right away by attending a donor drive near u or online @ www.marrow.org
2. Get others registered. Take ur frd or coworker or neighbor wid u to a donor drive. The more people register, the better the chances of finding a match.
3. Spread the word. There are drives all over the country, so voice out this to everyone u know n ask them to register.
REGISTER AS A DONOR—HELP SAVE SOMEONE’S LIFE!
All it takes is 5 minutes, a cheek swab, which will be tested to match d patient’s tissue, n some paperwork! No blood will be drawn. Please go to d drives n get registered especially if u r an Asian or South Asian descent!
U might be able to save d life of one of d other 35,000 patients waiting for a donor. To find out more about bone marrow or blood cell transplant process, please visit www.marrow.org.
"Life doesn’t stop happening to u even when u get Leukemia”
