A little five-year-old boy captured my heart 10 years ago. While reporting on a story about the need for blood donations at United Blood Services, I learned I have O-negative and CMV-negative blood, which allows me to donate blood to babies and cancer patients. In learning of this rare blood type, I met Garrett Allen.Since he was born, he's made regular visits to the hospital for blood transfusions. Garrett was born with Diamond-Blackfan anemia, which means his bone marrow malfunctions and fails to make enough red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. Over the years, Garrett has relied on the generosity of a core group of blood donors – frequently. I've donated to Garrett for the last several years.
With frequent blood transfusions, the now 15-year-old has lived a fairly ‘normal' life. He excels in school and even runs track. However, life changed drastically in July. Garrett learned he has cancer.
He is battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia at Oakland Children's Hospital right now. AML is a blood cancer in which Garrett's bone marrow produces white blood cells that are incapable of maturing into fully functional cells. These leukemia cells, known as "leukemic blasts," crowd out normal cells, resulting in a lack of functional white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. So he is receiving aggressive chemotherapy until he can find a bone marrow match. Treatment has been rough on Garrett. Given his previous blood condition, it is taking him twice as long to recover in between rounds of chemo. His only chance for a cure is a bone marrow transplant, which the doctors want to do soon.The problem is, he doesn't have a bone marrow match – yet.
If you are between 18 and 44 years old, you have an opportunity to save his life or the life of someone else with a life-threatening disease or disorder. On Tuesday, October 7th, you can join the ‘Be The Match' bone marrow registry bank during a donor drive on the University of Nevada campus. You can show up any time between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the front lawn of the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center for a quick cheek swab. Doctors say it could take more than a million people to possibly find one close match. So, the more people who register – the better the odds for Garrett and others just like him. Garrett's family says they are extremely grateful to those of you who sign up and they are very much appreciative of all the thoughts and prayers. Â
To learn more about ‘Be The Match', click on the links below. You can also follow Garrett's journey on his Facebook page: Get Garrett Bone Marrow
http://bethematch.org/Support-the-Cause/Donate-bone-marrow/Join-the-marrow-registry/
http://bethematch.org/Support-the-Cause/Donate-bone-marrow/Donation-FAQs/
