The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)
April 30, 2005 Saturday Final Edition

Bone-marrow donor desperately needed

by LIZ MONTEIRO

CAMBRIDGE, Ontario

A former Cambridge woman who has a life-threatening blood disease
desperately needs a bone-marrow transplant.

Arlene Titizian, 56, of Los Angeles, has myelofibrosis, a
proliferation of fibroblastic cells in the bone marrow. The only
treatment is a bone-marrow transplant.

Earlier this month, a bone-marrow donor drive was held at the
Armenian Community Centre in Cambridge. About 115 people attended but
no match had been found.

Titizian was born and raised in Cambridge and is the daughter of
Martin Avedesian, who served on Galt city council in the 1940s and
’50s.

Other donor drives for Titizian have been held in California,
Massachusetts and Armenia.

There is a better chance of finding a match in the recipient’s own
ethnic community, although anyone can be a match, said Mike Titizian,
Arlene’s brother-in-law, who lives in Cambridge.

“The sooner a match can be found, the sooner a life can be saved,”
said Titizian, who is working with other volunteers to organize an
upcoming donor drive in Toronto.

Anyone who is healthy, between the ages of 18 and 55, and willing to
donate bone marrow is encouraged to be tested. Call Canadian Blood
Services at 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283) or visit

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress