By Kathryn Daniels

There is a big celebration going on in the NU Housing Office this week. Our colleague, Ann Crehan, received word that a life saving bone marrow donor match has been found for her. We will not know for a year just who the bone marrow donor is, but you better believe when we do, a thank you letter writing campaign will ensue.

The rap star, Nelly, has a sister, Jackie Donahue, who has leukemia and is also in need of a bone marrow donor. Nelly is going public in a fight to save his sister — as well as others who might be helped by bone marrow transplants. Part of the campaign is to boost the number of minorities to be listed on the Bone Marrow Registry.

Of the nearly 5 million volunteers on the National Marrow Donor program, only 388,000 are minorities. By diversifying the Registry, all patients will have an equal chance of finding an unrelated donor.

Walter Payton, the former All-Pro running back and NFL record holder for the Chicago Bears, went public in February 1999, with the news that he had a rare disease of the liver. Fans everywhere expected to hear that the unstoppable Payton would be receiving a liver transplant, but a trip to the Mayo Clinic in May revealed a tumor in his liver, known as bile duct cancer. Walter Payton was a minority, and as minorities are unfortunately not well represented in the tissue bank, he had a much smaller chance of finding a match. His last months were spent as a crusader for organ donation and transplants. He died Nov. 1, 1999, at home in Illinois, less than a year after his diagnosis.

Here at Northeastern, on July 22, 2004 in as little as 20 minutes you maybe able to initiate a real life saving drama, by going to the EganAmphitheater from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. to register your tissue type.

About 30,000 Americans suffering from leukemia, aplastic anemia and other similar diseases are placed on waiting lists every year, in the hope that they will find a match in tissue type so they can receive a life saving stem cell transplant.

Many will die needlessly because the vast majority of the U.S. population has never been tested and therefore a match in tissue type cannot be made. We are trying to change this. Over the past four years, people have worked extremely hard on these drives, spending countless hours of their time. This hard work has resulted in more money for the National Marrow Donor Program and the registration of potential donors in the National Marrow Donor Registry. I hope that you will take a few minutes out of your schedule to help us in this truly worthy cause.

In addition to the NU Bone Marrow Drive on July 22 being dedicated to Ann Crehan, the NU Blood Drive on July 14 in the McLeod Suite is also being dedicated to Ann. Please “consider yourself asked” about giving blood as reserves are low at this time.

You and your family may depend upon a total stranger to save a loved one’s life.

Just 10 to 12 drops of blood will be taken and your tissue type will be entered into the National Marrow Donor Registry. While welcoming everyone who is willing to volunteer, there is a critical need for more minority donors to help the many minority patients searching the Registry.

Fundraising efforts are underway. All ethnic minorities are covered under a Federal Grant and there is no charge for their testing fee. The testing costs for all students is covered by the Aplastic Anemia Foundation. Faculty and staff are being asked to pay $25 towards their testing fee with the Marrow Foundation picking up the rest of the fee. (The cost for each test is actually 65 dollars.)

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to this cause, please bring a check payable to The Marrow Foundation, receipts will be available. Please RSVP by email to [email protected] or call 617-373-2814, so we can give the New England Marrow Donor Program staff an idea of the number of marrow donors to anticipate on July 22.

To find out more information on bone marrow donation, please go to this Web site: www.marrow.org. If you are already listed on the National Marrow Donor Program Registry, thank you. Please make sure your record is fully updated by completing the form at www.marrow.org

Thank you on behalf of all the families, friends and co-workers of those afflicted.

— Kathryn Daniels is a staff member of Housing Services.