Over 1,000 Flock to Bone Marrow Drive

Yesterday, the plight of a 6-year-old leukemia patient brought out over a thousand people who signed up as potential bone marrow donors. Friends of Jasmina Anema, who is fighting a very rare and deadly form of leukemia, organized the donor drive because Jasmina is adopted and doesn't have any full siblings to serve as donors. One man told the Daily News its article about Jasmina inspired him to come, "I'm here hoping I can save a life. I have a 25-year-old daughter. I would have wanted someone to do this for her if she was sick as a little girl."

Many others were moved by Jasmina's story and her mother's desire that her daughter survive. NY1 spoke to a woman who explained, "I put myself in that mom's place and I called everyone in my family and told them listen, 'Saturday, let's take a half an hour out of our day and come up here to see if we can be of assistance.'" All told, the drive, at Jasmina's school, P.S. 41 in the West Village, was extended past its 2 p.m. end time and at least 1,000 people signed up (the News says the number was 1,600).

The neighbor had numerous signs promoting the donor drive and the line extended outside the school as the cafeteria was filled with folks registering. Actress Jill Hennessy (Law & Order, Crossing Jordan), whose son attended school with Jasmina and who was one of the many P.S. 41 parents who helped organized the drive, told the News,"I'm blown away by the number of people who came to help Jasmina. It shows what kind of wonderful community we have here in New York City."

If you want to sign up to be a donor, you can do so by mail (check over the eligibility requirements, too). Katharina Harf of DKMS Americas, a non-profit organization that helps people find bone marrow matches, also told NY1, "It's very hard for African-American patients to find a matching donor, because they are under-represented on the national registry and their tissue type is more varied, so it's very hard to find a donor." Jamina's mother Theodora Anema was amazed at the turnout and told the News, "This is beyond anything I could have imagined."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on March 8, 2009 9:25 AM

Comments [rss]

jackdonaghy

This is one of the best stories that I've read in a long time.

Outter Burrougher

(p.s. Jen, when they asked how I heard about the drive, I told them it was because of Gothamist)

coconutendo

Ditto.

Jen Chung

That's great to hear! Yes, I went, too, and was really touched by how so many people were there. It was such a nice day—I hope some people wandering around the West Village went in!

And Outter Burrougher, the stats about willing donors actually donating are very interesting—that's something my husband and I were wondering about. Clearly, someone isn't legally obligated to donate if they are a match, but there's a moral/perhaps ethical obligation.

Outter Burrougher

because of the difficutly in finding a match, i've seen the number of willing donors who actually donate vary from 1 in 130 to 1 in 200 - in either case, that's at least 5 to 8 donations from this drive. It doesn't seem like a lot because it isn't, but it's definitely better than before.

I had been meaning to sign up for the donor registry for a while and just, for whatever reason, hadn't, but I went yesterday and was, as with wooden shoes above, amazed at the number of people who turned out. I hope they find a match for Jasmina and for a good deal of others as well.

wooden_shoes

I went to this, it was amazing how many people were there in the short time I was. I hope they find a match for this little girl.

NannyState

If you got checked out or donated, you're awesome! I pray this little girl gets a miracle match. You can find a needle in a haystack. I'm in a registry and I can't wait for that phone call.

Clarice City

I was registered when I was tested as a match for my brother when he got sick. That was 1998 and, like you, I am still waiting for a call! I'll bet that it happens some day, though.