As some of you may be aware, WASM alumnus Carl Adams has been fighting hard since April against a diagnosis of Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and needs a bone marrow transplant. Some of you might have read about it in the local news:
https://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/perth-dad-carl-adams-lymphoma-ordeal-family-pleads-for-miracle-marrow-donor-20151013-gk8kbo.html
If you have ever thought about joining the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, now is the time to do it (if you are not already registered). Many people who are excluded from donating blood (e.g. those who have lived in the UK 1980-1996) don’t know that they are still eligible to donate bone marrow.
Carl has been dealt a tough hand, with the most aggressive form of the disease known as “double hit,” which has not responded to standard chemo treatment. Carl and his wife and two young daughters are currently in Kansas in the USA, taking part in a medical trial to treat the cancer. However, in order to prevent the disease coming back, he still needs a stem cell (bone marrow or cord blood) transplant. There are 22 million people already registered globally on the www.bethematch.org transplant list. Unfortunately, they’ve just found out that due to Carl’s rare HLA typing, he doesn’t match with anyone already on the database. His friends and family are running a registration drive, in the hopes of finding a match. Maybe it’s you? Please take a minute to think about registering, and encourage your friends and family to register also. The sooner the better, as timing for Carl’s treatment is tight. It could save him…or another loved person somewhere in the world.
To join the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, you need to be 18-45 years old, and:
a) check your eligibility and what’s involved, via their website (www.abmdr.org.au)
b) fill out a form, and
c) have a sample of blood (about 20mL) taken for testing.
Representatives from the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry will be available on Tuesday November 17th from 10am in the Perth CBD (location TBC) to collect registrations and take blood samples (a 5-10 min procedure). If you would like to participate in this session, please email Helen Barbour (hbarbour@kpmg.com.au). Alternatively, you can join the registry sooner, during a routine blood donation with the Red Cross – just ask at the beginning of your appointment.
For further information, please consult www.abmdr.org.au
26Oct