You Can Honor Your Mother By Giving The Gift Of Life ports patients and their doctors (NAPSA)—Thebest way to say thank you for the gift of life may throughout the transplant process and matches patients with the be to give that gift to someone else. That’s why the Thanks best donoror cord blood unit using Recruitment Campaign wants mothers and their families to honor the gift of life by donating life-saving marrow or blood cells Every transplant coordinated by the NMDP begins with a search of its registry of more than six million potential marrow and blood cell donors and more than Mom! Marrow Drive Donor innovative science and technology. on Saturday, May 13, the day before Mother’s Day at 75 sites aroundthe country. 48,000 cord blood units. happy life for her child,” said The registry offers a single point of access for all three sources of cells used in transplants: marrow,cells collected from the bloodstream and umbilical cord blood. A patient is most likely to match someone of their same race and ethnicity. Every day, NMDP donor centers and recruitment groups work to diversify the registry, increasing donors from the communities of color. The NMDP’s special initiatives such as the “What could be more meaningful Recruitment Campaign recruit The campaign is being pro- moted by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), which makes life-saving marrow and cord blood transplants possible for persons who do not have a matched donor, and by the family of Kailee Wells, a 9-year-old girl who recently received a marrow transplant after four years of searching for a match. After waiting four years for a marrow donor, Kailee Wells received her transplant. Also taking part in the event are The Marrow Foundation and The National Association of Hospi- every mother wants a healthy, which offers a home-away-fromhome for families whose loved for your mother than giving the tal Hospitality Houses (NAHHH), ones are undergoing medical treat- ment and also helps by hosting donordrives. Owen and Linda Wells are helping organize the Thanks Mom! Marrow Drive because they want to assist other families searching for committed marrow donors. “Whether your motheris 18 or 98, everyone has a mother and Linda Wells, Kailee’s mother. gift of life for another mother’s child?” The NMDP helps people who need a life-saving marrow or blood cell transplant, connecting patients, doctors, donors and re- searchers to resources they need to help more people live longer, healthier lives. To achieve this mission, the NMDPsearches its registry, sup- Thanks Mom! Marrow Drive more donorsof color to improveall patients’ oddsof finding a donor. With more diversity in the reg- istry, it’s hoped that in the future other patients will have the chanceto live their lives, just like Kailee now does. For more information, call (800) MARROW-2 or visit www.marrow.org/thanks, www.KaileegetWells.com www.nahhh.org. or
