ABMDR 10th Anniversary Celebrations Kick Off With Major Event In Artsakh
Asbarez
Jan 22nd, 2010

ABMDR 10th Anniversary Celebrations Kick Off With Major Event In Artsakh

Archbishop Martirosyan volunteering to become bone marrow donor.

LOS ANGELES – The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry held an
extraordinary concert and donor recruitment drive in Artsakh on
January 8. The much-anticipated event, titled `Save a Life,’ marked
the first of a series of functions that will take place throughout
this year in celebration of the ABMDR’s tenth anniversary.

`Save a Life,’ which was held at the Spayi Tun hall in Stepanakert,
featured an extensive program of musical performances by prominent
artists from Artsakh as well as Armenia. The six-hour event was
attended by hundreds of concertgoers and ABMDR supporters, including a
roster of Artsakh dignitaries.

`It was just a wonderfully festive occasion, and the outpouring of
grassroots support made it all the more worthwhile,’ said Dr. Frieda
Jordan, president of the ABMDR Board of Directors. `Today, as we
celebrate the tenth anniversary of the ABMDR, we are as much proud of
the registry’s achievements as we are enthusiastic about its ongoing
growth and community outreach.’

Artsakh soldiers volunteering to become bone marrow donors.
Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director of the ABMDR, added that there
was symbolic significance in the choice of the Artsakh
concert-recruitment date, as January 8 has been declared `Donor Day’
by the government of Armenia. `We picked January 8 to further
emphasize the critically important role that stem cell donors can have
in helping save lives,’ Dr. Avagyan said.

The `Save a Life’ event was organized jointly by the ABMDR, the
Artsakh Ministry of Health, and the republic’s Ministry of Youth and
Cultural Affairs. Prior to the concert, on January 8, ABMDR staff
members and several supporters, among them Artsakh government
officials, visited the War Victims’ Memorial, also in Stepanakert,
where they laid a wreath.

As with recruitment drives held across Armenia, the United States, and
elsewhere, the ABMDR’s Artsakh concert gave dozens of volunteers the
opportunity to educate attendees about the life-saving work of the
registry as well as recruit potential bone marrow stem cell donors.
The effort resulted in 160 new recruits, including Artsakh National
Assembly member Ashot Ghulyan, Health Minister Armen Khachatryan,
Youth and Cultural Affairs Minister Narine Aghabalyan, and Archbishop
Pargev Martirosyan, Prelate of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian
Apostolic Church.

Dr. Jordan said that Artsakh’s people and government alike continue to
be extremely supportive of the ABMDR’s work. Yet another indication of
their solidarity came in the form of a Certificate of Recognition,
which the government of Artsakh bestowed on the ABMDR during the
January 8 concert.

ABMDR Board of Directors President Dr. Frieda Jordan accepting
Certificate of Recognition bestowed on the registry by the government
of Artsakh.
Previously the registry has held two recruitment drives in Artsakh, in
2002 and 2004, led by ABMDR Honorary President and former First Lady
of Armenia Bella Kocharyan. The two campaigns resulted in the
recruitment of a total of 805 stem cell donors.

Last year the ABMDR reached a key milestone when it opened a Stem Cell
Harvesting Center in Yerevan. The only one of its kind in the Caucasus
region, the center can store and harvest stem cells provided by
healthy bone marrow donors. The stem cells subsequently can be
utilized in transplants for patients suffering from life-threatening
blood-related diseases such as leukemia and other cancers.

In 2010 the ABMDR’s tenth-anniversary events – including recruitment
drives, concerts, and presentations – will seek to both recruit bone
marrow donors and garner support for the registry’s next major goal,
the establishment of a dedicated stem cell transplantation center in
Armenia. `This will be the next logical step in the evolution of the
ABMDR,’ Dr. Jordan explained. `A full-fledged transplantation center
will give thousands of Armenian patients access to affordable,
life-saving stem cell transplants.’

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 15,000 donors across three continents,
identified 1,305 patients, found 1,033 potential matches, and
facilitated nine bone marrow transplants.

For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.