Friday, July 10, 2009

Bone Marrow Registration Drive a Huge Success

We can't call it a happy ending yet - but what a nice happy "middle." A few weeks ago, we participated in a call for bone marrow registration for the close relative of a congregant. Below are the exciting results. I am personally grateful to all of you who responded to this plea. I've long felt that the Internet can be a tool not only for good but for godliness. This is the kind of news that proves that very point. Thank you all!

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Dear Rabbi Hammerman-

We have received great news as you will read in the e-mail I have forwarded from my sister.

I apologize for the delay, but I had been awaiting further medical details which we have subsequently obtained.

While there still may remain additional medical hurdles before getting the final green light regarding the donor status, I thought I would share this now.

Once again, a million thanks for all your have done to help.

Warmest regards,
Vivian

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Dear Friends and Family,

I am delighted and proud to inform you that through your efforts, my stem cell/bone marrow drive was a huge success. A total of 261 people registered between June 8 and June 22. According to The HLA Registry in Oradell, New Jersey, our drive was the most successful virtual drive in the entire Eastern United States and ranked among the top five in the whole country!

Whether you registered personally and/or forwarded the email along to others who registered, please know that through your actions you have potentially saved the life of another human being. I can’t think of another act of kindness more meaningful than that. On behalf of all cancer patients and survivors who need a stem cell or bone marrow transplant to stay alive, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity of spirit.

As for my own status, I am pleased to report that two people in the National Marrow Donor Registry have been identified as perfect matches for me. I am hoping that after additional testing at least one of them will be able to be my donor.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would now forward this email to those to whom you previously forwarded the information about my drive so that they can read about the success of this drive and receive my thanks as well.

With love, gratitude and wishes for a long and healthy life,

Andrea

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