HUNDREDS RESPOND TO BONE MARROW DONOR RECRUITMENTS
Public health diaspora
2009/04/15 | 00:00
Campaign is held by Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry in California
and Massachusetts Los Angeles, April 14, 2009 – On Palm Sunday
(April 5), a major drive to recruit bone marrow donors and raise
public awareness of the life-saving benefits of donorship was held
by the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) in California
and Massachusetts.
The recruitments, which took place in Glendale, San Francisco, and two
venues in Boston, were initiated by the family of Aram, a 24-year-old
Detroit resident who suffers from acute leukemia and is in urgent
need of a bone marrow stem cell transplant. In the weeks leading
up to the recruitment drive, Aram’s family and friends made appeals
to the public and launched a fundraising effort to help offset the
cost of donor screenings during the recruitments. Over 40 volunteer
recruiters from the ABMDR, community organizations, and churches,
including medical professionals, participated in the events. They
helped educate attendees about the benefits of donorship, conducted
screenings, and registered potential donors.
"We’re all so very moved by Aram’s story," said Dr. Frieda Jordan,
president of the ABMDR Board of Directors.
"Here’s a vibrant young man, someone who should be looking forward
to a wonderful future. Yet his life-threatening illness means that he
will possibly not have a chance to survive unless he receives a timely
transplant from a compatible bone marrow stem cell donor." Dr. Jordan
added that currently doctors are trying to induce Aram’s leukemia
into remission and stabilize his condition, to be able to perform a
transplant once a compatible stem cell donor is identified.
The ABMDR’s donor recruitments, which are held throughout the U.S. and
Armenia, are an ongoing effort to expand a worldwide and predominantly
Armenian registry of bone marrow stem cell donors. Dr. Vergine
Madenlian, the ABMDR’s outreach and development officer, said that
since ethnic Armenians have a unique genetic makeup, often their only
chance of surviving a life-threatening blood-related illness is to
receive a bone marrow transplant from an Armenian donor.
During recruitments, ABMDR volunteers register potential donors after
conducting a quick and simple screening, which involves taking a saliva
sample with a swab. Registered donors commit to donating their bone
marrow stem cell if their HLA tissue type matches that of an Armenian
or non-Armenian patient suffering from a blood-related illness and
requiring a transplant. Whenever the ABMDR receives a request from
a patient in need of a bone marrow transplant, it finds matches in
its own or other registries worldwide, and subsequently facilitates
the transplantation process.
During the April 5 recruitments, more than 300 donors were
registered. Although the recruitments were initiated specifically
in response to Aram’s critical need of a transplant, any number of
the 1,276 patients currently awaiting a match through the ABMDR can
potentially benefit from the expanded pool of donors.
The registry’s Marilyn Bazarian, who pioneered recruitments in
Massachusetts beginning in 2004, spoke of her early days as a volunteer
and the joys of supporting the registry. "I first became involved
in the ABMDR after seeing a newspaper report," she said. "I did not
fit the criteria [for becoming a donor] – I was beyond the desired
age range and had a medical history. What to do?" Bazarian, who is
an Irish-American, continued: "My husband is Armenian, my children
are half Armenian, and you never know when tragedy will strike you,
your family, or friends, necessitating a bone marrow transplant. I
felt volunteering for the ABMDR was absolutely the right thing to
do. So I started organizing recruitments in Massachusetts."
Bazarian added: "To see the eagerness and concern on the faces
of those so willing to help people they don’t even know is truly
rewarding. Here they are lined up to help, with no concern for
themselves. All you had to say was that an Armenian – it didn’t matter
where – needed help. No matter who I contacted regarding recruitments
or informational sessions, the answer was always yes. Newspapers,
radio broadcasters, civic groups, clergy… they were all willing to
help a fellow Armenian, however they could."
Bazarian’s sentiments were echoed by Narreh Ghazarians, an ABMDR
recruiter who volunteered at one of the Boston-area events on April
5. "It was truly touching to see so many young men and women, friends
and total strangers who had heard about Aram’s illness, take the time
to come and get screened," she said. "Although I have never had the
pleasure of meeting Aram, the overwhelming response of people from
every corner of this country shows what an amazing person he truly
is. Recruitment drives have been scheduled in several states over
the next few weeks and we hope that we will find a match for Aram
soon." Ghazarians added that the assistance of Aram’s girlfriend,
her family, and friends had an instrumental role in the success
of the Massachusetts recruitments, which resulted in about 130 new
potential donors.
Upcoming recruitment drives include events in Arizona (April 19,
Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona in Scottsdale), California (April
24, during the Genocide-commemoration event at Montebello’s Armenian
Genocide Memorial), New Jersey (April 24, venue to be announced),
New York (April 26, St. Vartan Cathedral), and Florida (May 8, venue
to be announced). Recruitments are also planned to take place in
Yerevan throughout April.
Recently the ABMDR reached a much-anticipated milestone as it launched
its Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan. The project was made
possible by a number of major corporate and individual donations, as
well as grassroots support through the registry’s first-ever telethon,
held on April 13 last year. With a total of $850,000 raised, the ABMDR
was able to renovate the Stem Cell Harvesting Center site, equip it
with state-of-the-art medical machinery, and train personnel. Slated to
open on April 28, the center is expected to receive full accreditation
by the European Federation of Immunogenetics.
Commenting on the public’s support of the ABMDR’s recruitments,
Dr. Jordan said, "While the response is great, it’s also true that
recruitments get maximum attention only when they’re focused on a
specific patient – that is to say, when a life-threatening illness
‘hits home.’ We appeal to our communities throughout the year, urging
people to get registered, but many ignore our pleas, perhaps believing
that catastrophic illnesses happen to others, not them. We try to
get the message across that becoming a registered donor amounts to
investing in a free health-insurance plan for individuals and families
alike, especially if they’re young."
About the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry:
Established in 1999, the ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps
Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses
by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem
cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 14,000
donors across three continents, identified 1,276 patients, found 821
potential matches, and facilitated nine bone marrow transplants.
For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.