Be the One!

Mother's Day is a time to celebrate and honor those who give life. It is also the perfect opportunity to save lives. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is sponsoring a special two-week Thanks Mom Marrow Donor Drive to encourage Americans of all backgrounds to join the National Marrow Donor Registry. From May 7 to 21, the NMDP will waive all fees typically associated with joining the Registry. By donating a simple (and painless) cheek cell sample, you have the opportunity to save the life of someone in need.

The family of Jessica Abood is asking you to please turn out for one of the drives organized in her honor. Jessica completed a reinduction round of high-dose chemotherapy and is currently in recovery mode at Queens Medical Center in Hawaii. She is in a very delicate state right now, as her immune system fights to recover and keep the cancer at bay. So, please say your prayers for Jessica, send good wishes, emit good vibes, whatever your heart tells you to do... And please consider joining the NMDP's Registry. You could be the one we need.

The Bay Area is one of the most diverse urban areas in the country and that is why the Thanks Mom campaign is so important here. Of the thousands of donors already in the Registry, people of minority or mixed race make up only a small percentage. Thousands of patients with life-limiting blood diseases like Jessica need to find a tissue match in the Registry in order to receive healthy bone marrow or stem cell transplants. These life-limiting diseases know no ethnic boundaries. That is why it is paramount that the Registry recruits new donors of ethnic or mixed background.

The NMDP, in coordination with local volunteers, is sponsoring 13 marrow drives in the Bay Area during the Thanks Mom campaign. Please visit http://www.marrow.org for more information about drives in the Bay Area and beyond.