Buddy, We Need Your Marrow

Every chance I get, I try to raise awareness among women and men about the importance of Early Detection and Prevention in the fight against Breast Cancer.

But at a Black History Month Program, sponsored by the Department of Health & Human Services in Rockville, Md, my awareness was raised about the critical need for Bone Marrow Donors, specifically minority donors.

Did you know that on any given day more than 6,000 men, women and children are searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a life-saving donor like you?

Former First Lady of the District of Columbia, Effie Barry, died last year before a suitable match could be made. And this month, OSCAR nominated JAWS actor Roy Scheider, also died of a blood disease.

It took less than 10-minutes for me to register as a bone marrow donor today. I filled out the paperwork with the help of Gina Boyd of the National Institutes of Health's Marrow Registration Program. Her father died of a blood disease while waiting for a donor.

If I am lucky enough to make a match, I could provide hope to a family and possibly help cure a child, a young mother, father, or your friend suffering from leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by a bone marrow or cord blood transplant.

To learn more about being a bone marrow donor click here.

Or call 1-800-MARROW-2

Special thanks to EEO Specialist Kay Nitta for inviting me to be a guest speaker for the Black History Month porgram.