You May Be Their Match!
Ashalond Daniel,
aka Mela, 29 of Mississippi, was diagnosed with Severe Aplastic AnemiaIn in April 2009 , a rare bone marrow disease. The Univ of Mississippi graduate is currently in need of a Bone Marrow Donor.
Presently there are no matches in the Be The Match Registry(sm) . In the coming weeks, Ashalond will return to Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, Maryland, to undergo a series of High-Dose Cyclophosphamide treatments, in hopes of being cured.
UPDATE: Mela has been doing well dispite not having had a transplant and has even started working again.
Harold “Maurice” Broadwater,
of Syracuse NY, a loving husband and father of two who is battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Maurice’s only chance for survival is a marrow transplant, but there are currently no matches for him on the donor registry. Maurice enjoys playing chess, watching football with his friends and loves to travel with his family. But now, this life-threatening disease has interrupted his life.
Jordan Culbreath,
an all-Ivy League running back, team captain, and mechanical and aerospace engineering major at Princeton University was diagnosed with aplastic anemia in October 2009.
The first treatment option was finding a bone marrow donor, however Jordan's ethnicity is a complicating factor in finding a match. His father is African-American. His mother is part Japanese, part German-Irish. That limits his pool of potential donors. His 25-year-old sister, was not a match.
Therefore he went with the second option which involves suppressing his immune system allowing his bone marrow to recover.
How Being Black Can Save A Life
African American Marrow Connection
Taylor John
15-year-old Taylor John has severe sickle cell disease; her best hope for a cure is a marrow transplant. Like 70 percent of patients, Taylor does not have a matching donor in her family.
A self described "huge Harry Potter fan", Taylor likens her battle to the same theme where Potter and his friends are the marrow donor heroes who ban together to wipe out the evil Voldemort (Sickle Cell Disease).
She says that after being cured she wants to rejoin her church dance team she loved so much when she was younger.
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Brenda Thorington,
Brenda, 48, is a wife & mother of a 22 year old daughter. She is a nurse practitioner & graduate of St. Joseph College in W. Hartford, CT. Brenda has spent her career working for the department of mental health, including serving as CEO of Cedarcrest Hospital. Most recently, she has enjoyed working as a psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, caring for under-served population. In May 2010 she started bruising & in June was diagnosed with a very rare form of Leukemia. A marrow transplant from an unrelated donor is her only hope for a cure.
GREAT NEWS! Brenda recieved a transplant in July 2011 and is currently recovering at home.
Woodrow Bernard Price, Jr (Tre)
Tre was just 11 years old when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2008. He was treated and was able to achieve remission rather quickly. Unfortunately the cancer returned and he is now in need of a bone marrow transplant.
His parents are now reaching out to the community where they live in Washington DC. because he does not have a match. In this interview Tre is very humble and asks that people join the registry not for him, but for all of the others who are in need.
Melanie Davis Hood,
Melanie, a Virginia mother of a three-year-old girl named Trist has pre-leukemia and will need a bone marrow transplant but does not have a match. If she does not find a full match by the end of the September, she will receive a bone marrow transplant with a half-match donor. See her story here...
Sadly Melanie lost her battle to Leukemia on Sept 26th 2011
Nyiah Young,
Nyiah, born November 6, 2005, was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia. In August of 2009, Nyiah suffered a stroke that affected both sides of her brain and left her with some residual paralysis. She was treated and diagnosed with Moya Moya Disease a thinning and separation of the blood vessels in the brain. Control of this disease requires the implanting of a double lumen port, which makes it possible for Nyiah to receive monthly Transfusion/Apheresis treatments. Now, Nyiah faces a new battle. With all her treatments and the many rounds of chemotherapy sessions she must have, to ultimately save her life, she needs a bone marrow transplant.
Loyd Jones (LJ),
LJ, age 10 is the first child ever diagnosed with Hyper-Eosiniphilic Syndrome. LJ's illness is one of the rarest forms of cancer. In fact he is the first child ever diagnosed with this disease. All others have been adults.
LJ is African-American, Native American, and Latino. He needs a bone marrow transplant to survive, but does not have a match. Even though he is in treatment he has been able to be present at several bone marrow drives and TV appearances up and down the east coast. All to make his appeal that someone save his life.
Ahtyana Johnson,
Sports have been a part of 17 year old Ahtyana's life. Since she was three she excelled at gymnastics and track and field. As a senior at New York's Cardoza High School she has become a well known track star. She received several scholarship offers from universities all over the nation and even qualified for the Youth World Olympics in Singapore. That all changed in September 2010 when she was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. Because of her age and general conditioning she is a perfect candidate for a bone marrow transplant, however she has no matching donor as of yet Ahtyana and her family have been working with DKMS Americas holding bone marrow drives and spreading awareness in the New York City Area. Her story has been featured in several New York news outlets.
Luis Danvers,
Talented six year old Luis Danvers from Queens, NY learned to read at age one and wants to be a dancer when he grows up. In September 2009, Luis experienced aches, pains, and had unexplained fevers. He was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). His mother Sharon Turnage left her job and started the Luis Danvers Leukemia Fund to help him. She has worked tirelessly to bring awareness and to register as many donors as possible in the New York area and beyond.
Olivia Saddler,
Olivia Sadler served in her professional life as an educator for the Detroit public school system. In 2011 she has been searching for a donor for the entire year while undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. Her daughter Laurie Crutchfield said “Today, my mother’s best hope depends upon the African American community’s commitment to step forward and register as donors...."
