PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
3111 Los Feliz Avenue, #206,
Los Angeles, CA 90039
Contact person: Dr. Frieda Jordan
Tel: 323-663-3609
Email: [email protected]
Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan completed
Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
holds pre-opening celebration in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, April 8, 2009 – On the evening of April 2, the Armenian
Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) held a cocktail reception in
Glendale, California, to celebrate the upcoming opening of its Stem
Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan.
The event, which was attended by supporters, ABMDR staff, and various
committee members – all of whom volunteer for the registry – served
as an opportunity to formally announce the much-anticipated launch of
the Stem Cell Harvesting Center, inform guests of current and future
ABMDR projects, and thank supporters for helping save lives through
the registry.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Frieda Jordan, president of the ABMDR
Board of Directors, expressed her gratitude to the numerous
individual and corporate supporters who have contributed to the
registry’s first-ever telethon, held on April 13, 2008. `Thanks to
your timely assistance, the Stem Cell Harvesting Center at last
became a reality,’ Dr. Jordan said. `The project was realized despite
being faced with so many challenges – including the Russo-Georgian
war last year, because of which manufacturers could not deliver to
Yerevan the machines we had purchased for the Stem Cell Harvesting
Center.’ She said this particular issue was eventually solved by the
United Armenian Fund, which transported all the required equipment to
Armenia.
`With the opening of the Stem Cell Harvesting Center, we can now save
Armenian and non-Armenian lives easily and cheaply,’ Dr. Jordan
continued. `This is why it’s so critical to continue supporting the
work of the ABMDR. In this respect, our next major project is the
establishment of a transplant center.’
Two years in the making, the Stem Cell Harvesting Center was made
possible through lead gifts by ABMDR Board member Dr. Carolann
Najarian, an anonymous donor, and the Glendale Sunrise Rotary,
followed by contributions from the Lincy Foundation, the Disney
Foundation, VivaCell of Armenia, and various Armenian organizations,
as well as hundreds of donors responding to the ABMDR Telethon. With
a total of $850,000 raised, the registry was able to fully renovate
the Stem Cell Harvesting Center site, provide it with state-of-the-
art equipment, and train personnel. Slated to open on April 28, the
center is expected to receive full accreditation by the European
Federation of Immunogenetics.
According to Dr. Vergine Madenlian, the ABMDR’s outreach and
development officer and a biochemistry lecturer at California State
University, Northridge, the opening of the Stem Cell Harvesting
Center is a medical milestone not only for Armenia and the Caucasus,
but Armenians throughout the world. The center recruits bone marrow/
stem cell donors from predominantly Armenian populations worldwide,
analyzes and determines the HLA tissue type of donors, and maintains
a database. Once it receives a request from a patient requiring stem
cell transplantation, the ABMDR finds matches in its own or other
registries worldwide and facilitates the transplantation.
Dr. Madenlian, who has volunteered for the ABMDR since 2004, added
that 50 percent of the registry’s over 14,000 donors are below 28
years old, making the ABMDR internationally recognized as one of the
world’s most dynamic – and healthiest – registries. `It’s just one
more reason that makes volunteering for the ABMDR such a spiritually
rewarding experience,’ she said.
Following Dr. Jordan’s address, Alicia Asmarian, Naz Atikian, and Ani
Azar of the ABMDR announced the registry’s annual gala, `Match For
Life 2009,’ which will be held on July 12 at the Glendale Hilton. The
event will raise funds for advocacy, education, and the registry’s
ongoing life-saving services.
Next to take the podium were Dr. Evelyn Baghdasarian and Lilit
Aladadyan of the ABMDR, who informed the guests of the registry’s
next walkathon, `Walk of Life 2009,’ slated to take place on October
3 at Glendale’s Verdugo Park. The event, which will include
entertainment, music, and dancing, is being organized to raise funds
for the registry’s activities as well as to recruit stem cell donors.
For an inside look at the ABMDR’s work, Fimi Mekhitarian, a longtime
volunteer and West Coast recruitment officer, spoke of a recent
FaceBook appeal for a 21-year-old Armenian man diagnosed with acute
leukemia and requiring an urgent stem cell transplant. `There’s been
an outpouring of grassroots support following the appeal,’
Mekhitarian said. `Today the young man’s family and friends are
organizing a stem cell donor recruitment, and this is where we come
in. In fact, we have recruitments lined up for San Francisco,
Chicago, and Florida. We’re literally having a field day recruiting
donors.’
The evening’s speakers also included Dr. Stuart Siegal, an early
ABMDR supporters who has had an instrumental role in helping Dr.
Jordan establish the registry. Commenting on the launch of the Stem
Cell Harvesting Center, Dr. Siegal said, `One of the most wonderful
outcomes of this project is that you see tangible results in terms of
saving lives.’
Among the evening’s guest were many who have been impacted by life-
threatening, blood-related illnesses. One such individual was Razmik
Moghadasian, whose nine-year-old son lost his battle with leukemia in
2007. Even though a stem cell donor was found through the ABMDR at
that time, a relapse in the child’s condition prevented a transplant.
`I see the ABMDR as an insurance policy for everyone,’ said
Moghadasian, who has since volunteered for the ABMDR. `If everyone
had a donor [through the registry], everyone would be safe.’
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.
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