Friday, May 05, 2006
E-Mail Message from AERA President, Past President, and Executive Director
A message from "AERA President, Past President, and Executive Director."
Dear AERA Members:
We are writing to you because of the emergency nature of a health situation affecting one of our members. Juan Gutierrez, an active member of AERA, is in dire need of a match for a bone marrow transplant. It is the one option remaining for him to overcome his struggle with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Matches are difficult to find, and many patients die before one is found. Juan is seeking to find a match and also to find potential donors for others faced with his circumstance.
We are sending Juan's letter to you in the hope that some AERA member or a friend of an AERA member (we are some 25,000 strong) will follow up on this plea and lead to the match that Juan needs. The Hispanic Research Issues SIG shared this information with us in an effort to reach widely across the AERA community.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Sincerely,
Eva Baker
President
Gloria Ladson-Billings
Past President
Felice J. Levine
Executive Director
__________________________________
Priority: normal
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 10:55:35 -0700
Reply-To: Hispanic Research SIG
Sender: Hispanic Research SIG
From: Juan Gutierrez
Subject: [HISPANICRESEARCHSIG-L] Need Bone Marrow Donors
To: HISPANICRESEARCHSIG-L@LIST.UNM.EDU
Dear Colleagues:
As many of you know, I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in May of 2001. I received various types of treatment and until January 2004, I was in remission. In July of 2005, the leukemia returned and has advanced to the point that I am producing 70% cancerous white blood cells. The doctors at Kaiser and City of Hope believe that the only option for a cure for me is to have a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). Originally, one of my brothers and a sister were found to be compatible donors for me. Unfortunately, due to recent, serious health problems of their own, they cannot serve as donors. I am now one of the 3000 patients that search the National Marrow Donor Program? (NMDP) daily, hoping to find a life-saving marrow match.
Currently, there are about 150,000 Southern Californians registered in the National Marrow Donor Registry and two million at the national level. It is urgent that new donors be found for me and so many others who are waiting for a transplant. Each year, 30,000 new patients are diagnosed with leukemia, aplastic anemia or any of 60 other life-threatening diseases that could be cured with a bone marrow transplant, if a match is found for those individuals. Only 30 percent of these patients are likely to have a family member who can donate. Finding a bone marrow match is a difficult process. Nearly one-half of those in need of a transplant die before a match is found. According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (http://lls.org/hm_lls), leukemia is the leading cause of disease-related death among children under the age of 15 and strikes twice as many adults. The survival rate for myeloma is 30%; the incidence is twice as high among African Americans as for all other races. People of all races and ethnic backgrounds are victims of blood cancers. That is why it is urgent that we increase the number and diversity of the pool of bone marrow donors. There is a special need for Black and African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Latinos. I urge you to seriously consider becoming a donor. You are greatly needed.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
You if are interested in being a bone marrow donor, not just for me but also to the thousands of individuals who need to find a match, it is as simple as a blood test. The blood test to be a stem cell donor is called Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA). The HLA is drawn from your white cells to determine if you can be a bone marrow donor for me for anyone else that has your genetic marker. This is how you can help
The City of Hope is willing to assist you in hosting a bone marrow drive on your campus. Please contact Lisa Longoria, Community Outreach Specialist at (626) 359-8111 ext 63812 or at llongoria@coh.org.
If anyone is interested in hosting a drive that is out of state, she will connect you with a donor center for your university and state.
*If you wish to make a tax deductible contribution, please contact the City of Hope at their website: http://www.cityofhope.org
TO FIND OUT IF YOU CAN BE A DONOR FOR ME:
*When you have your blood drawn, ask for your 9-digit number and your results will be sent to you with your ID number within three to four weeks. You can then fax the report with your ID number to the City of Hope at (626) 301-8349 in care of Stem Cell donor with my name on it, Juan M. Gutierrez. The results will be tested much faster. You must be in relatively good health and under sixty years of age.
If you are one of the lucky ones to be a donor for someone, you can contact the following for more information on the process: http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/steps_of_donation.html
As a donor you can know that you have given someone and their family members a new beginning on life. This trial has taught me that all we have are faith in our abilities to overcome and hope that our life will be better.
Tags: AERA, rural, education
Dear AERA Members:
We are writing to you because of the emergency nature of a health situation affecting one of our members. Juan Gutierrez, an active member of AERA, is in dire need of a match for a bone marrow transplant. It is the one option remaining for him to overcome his struggle with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Matches are difficult to find, and many patients die before one is found. Juan is seeking to find a match and also to find potential donors for others faced with his circumstance.
We are sending Juan's letter to you in the hope that some AERA member or a friend of an AERA member (we are some 25,000 strong) will follow up on this plea and lead to the match that Juan needs. The Hispanic Research Issues SIG shared this information with us in an effort to reach widely across the AERA community.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Sincerely,
Eva Baker
President
Gloria Ladson-Billings
Past President
Felice J. Levine
Executive Director
__________________________________
Priority: normal
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 10:55:35 -0700
Reply-To: Hispanic Research SIG
Sender: Hispanic Research SIG
From: Juan Gutierrez
Subject: [HISPANICRESEARCHSIG-L] Need Bone Marrow Donors
To: HISPANICRESEARCHSIG-L@LIST.UNM.EDU
Dear Colleagues:
As many of you know, I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in May of 2001. I received various types of treatment and until January 2004, I was in remission. In July of 2005, the leukemia returned and has advanced to the point that I am producing 70% cancerous white blood cells. The doctors at Kaiser and City of Hope believe that the only option for a cure for me is to have a Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). Originally, one of my brothers and a sister were found to be compatible donors for me. Unfortunately, due to recent, serious health problems of their own, they cannot serve as donors. I am now one of the 3000 patients that search the National Marrow Donor Program? (NMDP) daily, hoping to find a life-saving marrow match.
Currently, there are about 150,000 Southern Californians registered in the National Marrow Donor Registry and two million at the national level. It is urgent that new donors be found for me and so many others who are waiting for a transplant. Each year, 30,000 new patients are diagnosed with leukemia, aplastic anemia or any of 60 other life-threatening diseases that could be cured with a bone marrow transplant, if a match is found for those individuals. Only 30 percent of these patients are likely to have a family member who can donate. Finding a bone marrow match is a difficult process. Nearly one-half of those in need of a transplant die before a match is found. According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (http://lls.org/hm_lls), leukemia is the leading cause of disease-related death among children under the age of 15 and strikes twice as many adults. The survival rate for myeloma is 30%; the incidence is twice as high among African Americans as for all other races. People of all races and ethnic backgrounds are victims of blood cancers. That is why it is urgent that we increase the number and diversity of the pool of bone marrow donors. There is a special need for Black and African Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Latinos. I urge you to seriously consider becoming a donor. You are greatly needed.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
You if are interested in being a bone marrow donor, not just for me but also to the thousands of individuals who need to find a match, it is as simple as a blood test. The blood test to be a stem cell donor is called Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA). The HLA is drawn from your white cells to determine if you can be a bone marrow donor for me for anyone else that has your genetic marker. This is how you can help
The City of Hope is willing to assist you in hosting a bone marrow drive on your campus. Please contact Lisa Longoria, Community Outreach Specialist at (626) 359-8111 ext 63812 or at llongoria@coh.org.
If anyone is interested in hosting a drive that is out of state, she will connect you with a donor center for your university and state.
*If you wish to make a tax deductible contribution, please contact the City of Hope at their website: http://www.cityofhope.org
TO FIND OUT IF YOU CAN BE A DONOR FOR ME:
*When you have your blood drawn, ask for your 9-digit number and your results will be sent to you with your ID number within three to four weeks. You can then fax the report with your ID number to the City of Hope at (626) 301-8349 in care of Stem Cell donor with my name on it, Juan M. Gutierrez. The results will be tested much faster. You must be in relatively good health and under sixty years of age.
If you are one of the lucky ones to be a donor for someone, you can contact the following for more information on the process: http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/steps_of_donation.html
As a donor you can know that you have given someone and their family members a new beginning on life. This trial has taught me that all we have are faith in our abilities to overcome and hope that our life will be better.
Tags: AERA, rural, education
