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March 5, 2010

Letter: Become a marrow donor

Dalton Daily Citizen

DALTON —



A dear friend of mine, Mindy Blackwell, lost her battle with leukemia this past October. Mindy needed a bone marrow transplant and, out of millions on the registry, there was not a match for her. She lived six days short of a year from her diagnosis. Mindy is the inspiration for Studio One Hair Designs hosting a Bone Marrow Donor Drive. It is our goal to help grow “Be The Match Registry,” the national bone marrow donor registry, so that one day anyone in need of a transplant will have a matching donor.

I have found that the majority of people have misconceptions about the process of bone marrow donation. We want to dispel the myths and get the correct information out to people so they can make an informed decision about joining the registry.

After registering, if someone is a match they will be asked to donate one of two ways. The most common form of donation is by Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) donation. This form of donation is chosen for approximately 80 percent of transplants. The donor’s blood is removed through a sterile needle in one arm, passed through a machine that separates out the cells used in transplants and then the remaining blood is returned through the donor’s other arm. The second form of donation, chosen for approximately 20 percent of transplants, is actual bone marrow donation. In an outpatient procedure, liquid marrow is withdrawn from the back of the donor’s pelvic bone. General or regional anesthesia is always used so donors feel no pain during the procedure.

Every day, thousands of patients with leukemia and other life threatening diseases hope for a marrow donor who can make their transplant possible. Seventy percent of patients do not have a matching donor in their family and turn to “Be The Match” registry. They depend on people like you.

Along with Kristy Satterfield, Donna Brown and Traci Laster, all stylists and co-owners of Studio One Hair Designs, I encourage you to come by and join the registry. There is no cost to join. The Bone Marrow Donor Drive is currently under way and will continue through March at Studio One Hair Designs, 1100 Boylston St. in Dalton.

Please call us at 706-226-6011, come by, or visit www.marrow.org for more information.

Lisa Phelps

Stylist and Co-Owner

Studio One Hair Designs



 

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