Mothers Appeal For

The Gift Of Life This Mother's Day

Mother's Day is set aside to honor our mothers. Five-year-old Jillian Pasley, who recently underwent a stem cell transplant, is looking forward to celebrating another Mother's Day with her mom, Jessica. Jillian will be with her mother this year because a volunteer on the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry donated blood stem cells so that Jillian could have a transplant. Six-year-old Kailee Wells is hoping for the same chance to celebrate more Mother's Days with her mom, Linda. Kailee is searching for a marrow or blood stem cell donor.

This Mother's Day, Jillian, Jessica, Kailee and Linda are asking others to give more mothers the gift of life by joining the NMDP Registry as a potential marrow or blood stem cell donor.

On Mother's Day weekend, May 10 and 11, the NMDP, with the help of the National Association of Hospital Hospitality Houses (NAHHH), a non-profit corporation serving hospitality houses that provide lodging and other support to families facing medical emergencies, will team up with Linda, Kailee, Jessica and Jillian to host donor recruitment drives in cities across the United States. They are working together to help thousands of Americans who suffer from potentially life-threatening diseases, such as leukemia, aplastic anemia or other genetic diseases.

Jessica and Jillian Pasley

Since there were no matching donors in their family, Jessica and her husband, Irvin, turned to the NMDP Registry for help. A donor was identified for the twins. Jade received her transplant in 2000. Jillian did not need a transplant at that time, but in July 2002, after a relapse of her disease, she too received a bone marrow transplant. Jillian is now thriving, busy playing soccer and getting ready for her first year in school, but Jade succumbed to her disease and passed away four months after her transplant. "Although Jade did not survive, I am very grateful to Jade's donor. The donor gave us additional precious time with Jade, making memories that we will treasure forever," Jessica said.

Linda and Kailee Wells

A bright-eyed, loving little girl, Kailee, hopes to some day return to the normal life of a child. Kailee needs someone to donate healthy stem cells for her life-saving transplant. Kailee was adopted from a village in China when she was a baby. Because Kailee was adopted, she cannot turn to a biological family to find a matching donor. Kailee needs a matching unrelated donor to give her a second chance at life. Kailee is currently searching the NMDP Registry for an unrelated donor for her transplant.

While the likelihood of finding a match for minority patients has increased dramatically, they are still less likely than Caucasians to find a matching donor. The need for more Black and African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino volunteer donors is particularly great.

How to Help

• There is an urgent need for more donors, especially Black and African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino, to join the NMDP Registry. For a list of participating locations of the Mother's Day drives in the United States or for more information, call the NMDP at 1 (800) MARROW-2.
• Donate your time or talent. Contact your local Donor Center or Recruitment Group to find out how you can get involved.
• Consider making a financial gift to The Marrow Foundation^®, a partner of the NMDP. Because volunteer donors could be asked to pay the cost of tissue typing to join the Registry, your contribution could give someone else the chance to join. You can also support the Patient Assistance Funds to help patients with some costs of an unrelated donor transplant that are not covered by their health insurance. To make a financial donation, contact The Marrow Foundation at www.themarrowfoundation.org or call (202) 638-6601.