YOU COULD BE THE ONE TO SAVE A LIFE
Most of us plan on donating our organs when we die, hopefully to save someone's life. What if you could save someone's life while you're still alive?
Fanconi anemia, along with many other life threatening diseases lead to bone marrow failure, where truly the only hope for a cure is a bone marrow transplant.
What needs to be matched up between the person needing the transplant and the donor is their tissue type. Each of us has a particular tissue type, depending on our ethnicity, and what makes it really difficult is there are millions of tissue types. There are many people, both children and adults who are in dire need of a transplant and are waiting to find a match. The tragic thing is most of them don't have that much time to wait... Who knows? Maybe you could be that match that someone is hoping beyond hope for.
To have your tissue type tested, a simple and painless cheek swab is all that is needed. Once you do that, you're on the National Bone Marrow Registry and will be contacted if and when you become a match for someone. If you are found to be a match, being a donor is not a painful procedure. There is some soreness and discomfort, but not pain.
We hope you decide to make a difference and choose to give the gift of life. It certainly doesn't get much bigger than that... For more information, or to get tested, contact Delores Rue-Jones at (503) 528-5973 or druejone@nmdp.org.
Where Your Entry Fee is Going
All proceeds from the Valentine Fanconi anemia 5K will go to the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund; a non-profit organization started in 1989 in
Money raised goes to further scientific research of Fanconi anemia, a rare genetic life-threatening disease that leads to bone marrow failure and cancer in children and young adults. The Fund’s progress to date has been phenomenal.
In 1989, scientists had not yet found an FA gene. Because of the generous support of the research Fund, scientists have now isolated 11 FA genes that account for over 95% of all cases of FA. Understanding genes and their proteins is the first step towards devising effective therapies for a genetic disease.
Recently, scientists discovered that a gene for hereditary breast cancer is also an FA gene. This discovery brought major cancer researchers and FA scientists together to the mutual advantage of both fields. Progress in understanding FA sheds light on malignancies that affect millions of people.
Bone marrow transplantation is the only present cure for the bone marrow failure and leukemia that affect so many FA patients. Success rates for these transplants, for not only those with FA, but for those with other diseases as well, have improved enormously in recent years, thanks in large part to research supported by our Fund.
The Fund is very careful of each and every dollar received from a small but generous group of caring donors. A panel of scientific experts helps us determine the best targets for research support. Last year, the overhead expenses were only 5.75%. That means that over 94% of your money goes right where we want it to go: research and family support!
Fanconi anemia is an orphan disease. Because it is rare, it doesn’t get the kind of funding that other diseases get. Like an orphan, we’re pretty much on our own, which is why your donations are so important and mean so much. Thank you for your support.