Saving Ronan

Three year old Ronan has aplastic anemia caused by a rare genetic disorder called dyskeratosis congenita. With a successful bone marrow transplant, Ronan has a 50% chance of being cured. He has no family match so needs our help. Because of the nature of DKC, each time Ronan receives a blood transfusion, which he is receiving often, it makes it more likely that his body will reject the bone marrow transplant. So time is of the essence.

City of Hope will be conducting a bone marrow (cheek swabbing) drive as part of our Women of Faith Humanitarian Workday on Thursday, April 14th from 12:00 until 6:00 p.m. at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Stake Center. The R. Interfaith Council and the R. Service Club Council are co-sponsors of the drive.

The registration process will take roughly 10 minutes during which you will be asked to fill out paperwork and give a cheek swab sample. You will be registered until you are 61 years old and will only be asked to donate marrow or stem cells if you are identified as a match for a particular patient in need.

To join the registry, you need only to be between the ages of 18 and 60, be willing to donate to any patient in need, and meet the health guidelines. If you are not able to participate, won’t you spread to word to someone who can!

**See WOF's blog for further details.