Celebrating Heroes

Firefighters Give Patients a Second Chance at Life

This September 2002, as the United States remembers both the losses of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the bravery of the heroes who took action that day, the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) pays special tribute to the firefighters of New York City. Hundreds of firefighters who were lost in the World Trade Center attack were committed to saving lives not only as firefighters but as potential volunteer marrow or blood stem cell donors. More than 7,500 New York City firefighters have joined the NMDP Registry, and 40 have gone on to donate marrow or blood stem cells to patients needing life-saving transplants. It is largely through the efforts of New York City firefighter Mark Kwalwasser that so many firefighters have joined the NMDP Registry. His efforts have grown into the "Be Someone's Hero" program, launched Aug. 13, 2002, to recruit firefighters from throughout the United States.

"We are grateful for the commitment of firefighters to saving lives in their daily work and especially for their willingness to volunteer as marrow or stem cell donors when asked. This kind of commitment is critical for the NMDP to continue to facilitate transplants for patients with leukemia or other blood disorders," said Dr. Jeffrey W. Chell, NMDP chief executive officer.

Some of the firefighters lost in the World Trade Center attack never met the transplant recipients whose lives they saved. One of them, Jeff Olsen, donated marrow in October 2000 to a teenage boy from Philadelphia, Richard Epps, who had severe aplastic anemia. Today, at 17 years old, Richard is alive and doing well. He never met the man whose marrow saved his life, but this summer, Richard and his mother traveled to New York City to meet Jeff Olsen's widow, Denise. Read about their meeting, about other firefighters who have been donors and about the Be Someone's Hero program in the Sept. 17, 2002, issue of Family Circle.

To learn more about how you can help support work of the National Marrow Donor Program, see the Web site of our partner, The Marrow Foundation.