the Flemington JCC
5 Sergeantsville Road
5 Sergeantsville Road
Flemington, NJ 08822
908-782-6410
on Sunday, November 16, 2008 starting at 9 AM
A marrow donor simply needs to provide a mouth swab to join the national registry. That is the extent of the drive. If a donor is found to be a match with anyone, the process for actual donation is similar to giving blood but it just takes longer and is done on two days.
The mouth swab is free (however donations are gladly accepted). One may also join the donor registry free (until 11/30/08) at this site.
A marrow donor simply needs to provide a mouth swab to join the national registry. That is the extent of the drive. If a donor is found to be a match with anyone, the process for actual donation is similar to giving blood but it just takes longer and is done on two days.
The mouth swab is free (however donations are gladly accepted). One may also join the donor registry free (until 11/30/08) at this site.
A blood drive in Brett's honor will be held at the same time if you
would like to participate in one or both. Please feel free to pass
this link to anyone and everyone.
Information about Brett and his recent diagnosis of Acute
Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) follows.
Brett Melworm is 40 years old, married 11 years to his wife
Stephanie, and dad to their two precious little girls… four year
old Lily and two year old Rebecca.
For the past several years Brett has been very proactive about
his health, exercising regularly, eating healthy…in top physical
and psychological shape. He is a physical therapist, and has
spent decades helping others. All aspects of his life were in
order….life was good.
Things changed August 25th.
Within 12 hours of walking into the
Hunterdon Medical
Center emergency room that day, suffering from severe and
sudden lower back
pain, Brett was diagnosed with
acute myelogenous leukemia, one of the most aggressive
and lethal types of this disease.
He was rushed that day to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New
Brunswick NJ, and the first of two intensive rounds of
chemotherapy began, in addition to endless testing, and endless
waiting. The chemotherapy has been successful in achieving
remission at this point in time. He will continue receiving it
as well, as needed. He is unable to work, and the
chemo.has sent him back into the hospital as well.
Further test results have concluded that in order to keep the
leukemia in remission, a
bone marrow transplant is necessary. After first testing
a family member, Brett was entered into the
international bone marrow transplant donor registry.
After searching eleven million donors, three potential
candidates were located However, as these are not
perfect matches,
and there is additional testing required, there is no guarantee
a donor has been found.
It is imperative that as many potential
bone marrow donors
can be located as quickly as possible.
The bone marrow test amounts to a simple mouth swab. And the
donation process is similar in most respects to blood donation.
Here are the two informative websites, or you can contact a
local blood bank.
www.dkmsamericas.org/category/home
www.marrow.org
We are appealing for help, both as a potential bone marrow
donor, and a participant in spreading the word, particularly via
your email contact list.
Please forward this link to as many people as you can.
The right match is out there.....we just have to reach enough
people, and we know that this email can potentially circulate
around America and the world.
With our sincerest appreciation and gratitude,
Stephanie, Lily, Rebecca, and the entire family of Brett Melworm