7 Days

Only 7 days from Erin's one year mark!

Today we are thankful for

Blood!

**Give the gift of life this season**

When Erin arrived at Primary Children's on June 1, 2010 her platelets were only at an 11.  A normal platelet count is 150-400.  She received platelets and red blood transfusions within a few hours of her cancer diagnosis.

Several of our friends have had bone marrow transplants that have saved their lives with a many thanks to those who have done the simple cheek swab required to join the bone marrow registry.  It amazes me how few people are registered on the bone marrow registry.  Shannon Tavarez, an 11 year old who played Nala on the Broadway Lion King, died of AML because no bone marrow match was available on the registry.

Please consider saving a life

Join the Bone Marrow Registry

Erin received 13 red blood transfusions and 13 platelet transfusions.

Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood

More than 38,000 donations are needed each day

Less than 38% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate

One donation can save up to 3 lives

Only 7% of the U.S. population has O neg. blood, the universal donor

www.redcrossblood.org

Enjoy this video on the need for joining the bone marrow registry

You can join the registry if you are age 18 to 60. Just about anyone can join! Those who cannot join are those who have AIDS, cancer, herniated disc or spine fracture/rods in your back, had hepatitis B or C, serious or chronic kidney problems, liver disease, organ or tissue transplant, active Tuberculosis, and if your BMI is extremely low or extremely high.

A bone marrow donation can either (1) be taken from your hip while you are sedated or (2) like when you give plasma through a needle in your arm or (3) cord blood from a newborn

Consider donating your newborns' cord blood

Want to know what joining the bone marrow registry is about?

Watch this entertaining video

Entertaining Video on Being a Bone Marrow Donor

I found this video through facebook.

It is entertaining and very informative about the whole bone marrow donation process.

The Anthony Nolan Corporation is not where I'm registered, but the video really depicts what joining is all about.  Just a note...the video shows that you spit into a spit kit, but the National Bone Marrow Registry (where I'm registered) has you do a cheek swab.  Oh, and you most likely will not be getting a train to London to do the bone marrow donation (although, that would be nice).

Please Consider Joining the

Bone Marrow Registry

Want to know what joining the registry is about?

Watch this video.....

The Miracle of Bone Marrow

Our little AML friend, 8 month old Aubree, received a bone marrow transplant yesterday from her 4 year old brother. You can see tons of pictures of the process HERE. If Aubree hadn't received a bone marrow transplant her survival rate would have been only 10%. Thanks to the bone marrow from her brother she now has a 90% survival rate! Isn't that amazing?!

Last week John and I finally joined the bone marrow registry. Today I received my bone marrow registration packet in the mail. I had to swab my cheek 4 times and then I put it in the mail. Now I sit and wait to be someone's match and hopefully save their life. Maybe I'll never match anyone or maybe I'll be someone's ONLY match!

On April 6th our friend Tanner is getting a bone marrow transplant. They were able to find a 10/10 match through the bone marrow registry and it is saving his life. This is the second time Tanner has had cancer and he is such an amazing example of strength for us all.

JOIN THE BONE MARROW REGISTRY

It's such an easy process to join the registry AND it was free. You could be someone's ONLY match. After I sealed my envelope with my cheek swabs in it I started crying and hoping that I can help save someone else's life. I really felt like I did something important today. It is such a miracle that so many of our cancer friends are making it. It is a miracle that Erin is home and well with us.

If Erin's leukemia were to relapse then our next step would be a bone marrow transplant. We would be searching through those 2 million names of people who have already joined and pray hard that we could find a perfect match. Please consider joining today.



You can join the registry if you are age 18 to 60. Just about anyone can join! Those who cannot join are those who have AIDS, cancer, herniated disc or spine fracture/rods in your back, had hepatitis B or C, serious or chronic kidney problems, liver disease, organ or tissue transplant, active Tuberculosis, and if your BMI is extremely low or extremely high.

A bone marrow donation can either (1) be taken from your hip while you are sedated or (2) like when you give plasma through a needle in your arm or (3) cord blood from a newborn.

Free For You, Worth EVERYTHING To Them

This CHRISTMAS, here are two relatively simple, FREE gifts you can give your fellow man:

1. Get registered in the bone marrow donor registry: http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/. There are many people who need a life-saving bone marrow transplant, but who don't have a match. Last month I read about Shannon Tavarez, an 11 year old girl with AML, who passed away. She needed a bone marrow transplant and a perfect match couldn't be found.  It is particularly difficult to find matches for people who are mixed race. YOU could be someones match. It takes about five minutes to get signed up. Get registered and give someone hope! Our friend Rachel was able to find a donor, can you imagine if she was saved because of YOUR marrow? What an amazing gift for everyone involved!

Erin receiving red blood yesterday. 

2. Donate blood at your local Red Cross you can also go HERE if you would like to donate solely to patients at Primary Children's. You can donate blood or platelets.  A single platelet donation can provide enough platelets for a full therapeutic dose for a patient in need. In fact, some platelet donations yield enough platelets for two or three therapeutic doses. By contrast, it takes about five whole blood donations to produce a single therapeutic dose. Many patients who need platelets are undergoing chemotherapy or organ transplant and have weakened immune systems. A platelet dose from a single donor reduces the patient’s exposure to multiple donors and is therefore preferred by many physicians. During a platelet donation, a small portion of your blood (less than one pint at a time), is drawn from your arm and passed through a sophisticated cell-separating machine. The machine collects the platelets and safely returns the remaining blood components, along with some saline, back to you. After the donation you can resume your normal activities, avoiding heavy lifting or strenuous exercise that day.

According to the American Red Cross: every two seconds, someone in the US needs blood. Erin has received 13 blood transfusions and 13 platelet transfusions. One of our friends, Amelia, had 3 transfusions just in her 1st 2 days of treatment. We have a friend Elena who has had multiple transfusions in just one week - and occasionally, her transfusion has been delayed because the blood bank didn't have the type of blood she needed. Or there's our cancer friend, Skyler, who has multiple platelet transfusions every day. And there are millions of other cases where people need blood. It is life-saving.

It takes 2 hours for Erin to receive her red blood transfusions, but it only take 30 minutes for someone to go through the donation process.  Last month I donated red blood with the Red Cross and it took me 7 minutes to fill the bag for a donation.

  

Some Facts About Blood Supply Needs and Blood Donation -from the American Red Cross

•One donation can save the lives of up to three people.

•The demand for blood transfusions is growing faster than donations.
•Shortages of all blood types usually occur during the summer and winter holidays.

•Less than 38% of the US population is eligible to donate blood. (So if you can, you can see that you're sorely needed!)

•It is possible to donate specifically only platelets or plasma. This process is called apherisis.
•Donated platelets must be used within 5 days of collection - new donations are constantly needed.

•Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma, and platelets. The body will replenish the elements given during a blood donation - some in a matter of hours, and others in a matter of weeks.

•The average adult has about 10 to 12 pints of blood in his body. Roughly 1 pint is given during a donation.
•The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
•A healthy donor may donate red blood cells every 56 days.
•A healthy donor may donate platelets as few as 3 days apart, but a maximum of 24 times a year.

You must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good general health to donate. (Eligibility requirements may vary in some states and donation centers.)

Please, if you possibly can, get out and donate this holiday season. It's one of the best gifts you can give.

This Christmas, GIVE LIFE!

Red Blood and Platelets

**feel free to copy and paste this post onto your blog (I DID via- The Flamm Family) - spread the word!

Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Blood donations

Erin receives blood transfussions daily to help keep her blood count up while she is fighting Acute Myeloid Leukemia M7. She also receives platelets before surgeries. Did you know that it takes 6 platelet donations for ONE of her platelet transfussions? It amazes me how much sacrifice is put into helping our sweet daughter overcome her cancer. Many of you have offered to donate blood in Erin't behalf. Our hearts are so touched that you are so thoughtful! If you would like to donate blood to the American Red Cross we greatly appreciate it. Although you would not be giving blood directly to Erin, you would be helping to save the lives of others.

We are awaiting the results of her bone marrow biopsy. In 2 weeks we will find out if she will need a bone marrow transplant. Yesterday we had Cecily & Caleb here having their blood drawn to see if they will be a perfect match. It wasn't too much work getting the kids to the outpatient clinic to have the blood drawn, but I'm sure that people all over the entire hospital could hear Caleb scream as they drew his blood and then for a few minutes after they were done. Wow, that kid has an amazing set of lungs! Maybe we should get him into opera singing.

In one week we will find out if Cecily or Caleb are a perfect match for Erin. If they are not a perfect match then the doctors go to a pool of bone marrow donors already in their system. We have been amazed with how many of you have offered to be tested to donate the bone marrow if it is needed. However, becuase the task of testing the blood to see if it is a match is so long and tedius the doctors do not want to test anyone else other than Cecily or Caleb. I guess siblings are usually the closest match. Thank you for your offers!

Tags: "Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia" "AML" "Leukemia" "M7" "Acute Megakaryocytic Leukemia"