PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: publicrelations@armeniandiocese.org
Website:
April 19, 2010
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BONE MARROW DRIVE AT NEW YORK’S ST. VARTAN CATHEDRAL
On Sunday, April 25, a bone marrow registry drive will be held at St. Vartan
Cathedral in New York City from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. and from 12:30 to 3:30
p.m. The drive is organized to help find a bone marrow donor for Charlotte
Conybear, a four-year old girl suffering from a life-threatening bone marrow
disorder. St. Vartan Cathedral is located at 630 Second Avenue in New York
City.
***
Charlotte Conybear, age 4, is suffering from Aplastic Anemia, a life
threatening bone marrow disorder that has resulted in the failure of
Charlotte’s bone marrow to produce adequate blood cells. She is
currently receiving transfusions and may need a bone marrow transplant.
There are no matches for her among her family, on the National Bone Marrow
Registry or on the Armenian Bone Marrow Registry.
To help Charlotte, we are encouraging everyone in good health between
the ages of 18 and 60 to register to become a bone marrow donor. There
are two ways to register to become a donor. First, you can attend our
New York donor drive at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, located at 630
2nd Avenue in Manhattan. The drive will be held on Sunday, April 25
from 8:30-10:30am as well as 12:30-3:30pm.
The second way to register is online at:
Click on "Join" and then
click on "Join Now" and use promo code "CharlottesMatch." Online
registration involves answering a few questions. A short form and swab
kit will be sent to you to swab inside the mouth with a q-tip. There
is no blood taken in the process.
The cheek samples are sent to a lab for testing. If you are a match
for Charlotte (or anyone needing a bone marrow transplant), you will
be contacted and asked to visit a local clinic where further testing
will be done and if appropriate, a donation will be made. Bone marrow
donation has an undeserved reputation for being painful. In the vast
majority of cases (80%), bone marrow donations are no more painful
than giving blood as marrow cells are taken from the blood, rather
than directly from the marrow. 20% of the time, marrow is taken under
general anesthesia from the hip bone (resulting in some soreness that
goes away after a couple days).
Being a bone marrow donor is an incredible opportunity for an ordinary
individual to be a hero – and save the life of someone they have never
met. It could be Charlotte or it could be someone else’s
child. Please consider registering today. If you would like to make a
donation, please give to the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry at
If you have any questions or need any further information, please
email Dean Jerrehian (Charlotte’s uncle) at deanjerr@gmail.com , Joel
Conybear (Charlotte’s other uncle) at joel.conybear@wilson.com, or
visit Thank you for considering this request.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress