Single Dad needs a Marrow Donor

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Author Message   Robynmarie Regular Poster Username: Robynmarie Post Number: 392 Registered: 04-2006 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - 11:55 pm:        Jerome Williams, who is in the accelerated stages of leukemia, has been told by doctors that they are not sure how much longer he will live without a compatible bone marrow donor. “I‘m African American, French and Native American,” Williams said in an interview last year. “I went through my family members and no one was a match. I went to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) and no one has been a match so far. Due to my unique racial heritage, someone of Caribbean or a black and Hispanic mix would most likely be a marrow match for me. “If you have an unrelated donor, your chances of survival are lessened,” he says. “But when you compare it to having no donor whatsoever, it’s a much better chance.” The former Los Angeles Fire Department employee was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in February 2003 after visiting the doctor for what he thought was acid reflux disease; an enlarged spleen due to the leukemia had pushed him stomach out of place, causing discomfort. Since then, he has spearheaded several bone marrow drives, to find a cure for others and himself. Please check out this link and forward to your contacts. Thanks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoaOKTuYZxo   Latina_wi Regular Poster Username: Latina_wi Post Number: 319 Registered: 08-2006 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 06:47 am:        Gosh I hope he gets it as his children need him. And just the fact that he needs it himself. A trip to the Islands but maybe it would be worthwhile because like he said, he is more likely to get his match from someone from those groups. They are appealing for more ethnic minorities in the UK to donate bone marrow et cetera. There was also a case of a woman who refused to be a bone marrow transplant for her dying brother. Even though they weren't especially close that is slightly crass.