Project Hope

"A gift of giving is a gift of love."

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Beloved Parishioners & Friends

Our Brother Bill Salim had asked to send you information regarding the bone marrow registry drive that we would like to hold during Heritage Day. First I would like to explain why this is so important. Bill needs a stem cell transplant within the next 12 months. Without the transplant he will develop Leukemia. If he does develop Leukemia it will be almost impossible to treat due to his prior treatment history for Lymphoma. The stem cell transplant must be from a donor and he has no siblings. Both of his parents, Alice Moussa and Sarkis Salim, are deceased and his closest living relatives are in either Lebanon or Australia. His best possible chance at a perfect stem cell match is from a person of the same ethnic background. Unfortunately there are very few donors of Middle Eastern descent currently on the registry. I have attached several documents from the Be the Match organization that will be sponsoring the drive. They explain in detail what will occur during registration, donation, and after. Basically to register a donor will complete an application and then perform a cheek swab with a long cotton swab. The swab will then be sent to a lab for genetic testing and the donor will be placed on the registry. The donation process can happen one of two ways. The first method involves the donor receiving a shot once a day for five days. This is generally done at home, but can also be performed at a doctor's office. At the end of the five days the donor will go to the donation site and will have an IV placed in each arm. Blood will be filtered out of the body through one IV, run through a collection machine, and be returned to the body through the second IV. Only stem cells are collected. This procedure will leave the donor slightly weak for the remainder of the day. This is the procedure that will be used for Bill's donor and is the procedure used in most cases. The other procedure involves the donor undergoing general anesthesia. Once under anesthesia the donor will have marrow collected via a puncture made in the hip area. This procedure will leave the patient sore for possibly a few days. Completing either procedure provides the gift of life for the recipient. There is a fee associated with becoming a donor for the registry. The family will be fundraising, not at Heritage Day, to defray all costs. If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to e-mail or call either myself or Bill. His e-mail address is gqbosco2003@yahoo.com. Thank you.