Corner of Bourbon & Division

:::with apologies to those who have already received this by email today, but I figured not everyone reads LJ, so...:::

Dear Friends,

Some of you may know kino_kid, or have heard of her. Some of you may not. However, she is a dear friend of mine, and has asked for my help in this matter. Some of you may already be aware that her older brother, Emru, has an aggressive form of leukemia, and needs a bone marrow transplant in order to get better. Unfortunately, no one in his immediate family has proved to be a match, and so now he must rely on an anonymous donation from the Bone Marrow Registry. There is an added complication, of course, that Emru is a black man, and black people in general are underrepresented in the Bone Marrow Registry.

So why am I writing to you? I would like you to consider getting tested and registering. If you are a healthy adult, there should be no problem for this. If for health or other reasons you are unable to register (which can happen), I would appreciate it if you could pass on this message to your friends and acquaintances. Signing up for the registry in no way obligates you to donate when the time comes (you may refuse donation at any time), but it increases the likelihood that someone in need around the world will find a match.

There is no obligation, of course. This is just a message to raise people's awareness of the pressing need worldwide for bone marrow donors. Every little bit helps, as they say.

I have included part of kino_kid's message below, in which she lists resources, FAQ's, and explains a bit about the whole process.

Please consider registering and/or forwarding this to your friends. The more people know about this, the more likely we will be able to help a great number of people, including Emru.

Thanks for listening,

mousme

++++++++++++++++++

kino_kid's message:

A little from a many of us can add up to a lot.

By the way, don't worry if you don't think you will match Emru, just go and sign up. Emru says the young man who was in the room next to him needs a bone marrow transplant, too. 6000 other people are in the same boat and require unrelated bone marrow.


Help spread the word about the need to register for your country's bone marrow registry and diversify its database. The 11 million potential donors worldwide can help save a life. Even if you do not live in his country, you could help him find a compatible donor.

Many donors are required because the chance of finding a match requires finding the right combination of matching human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) between donor and recipient. Chances of matching are between 1 in 450 and 1 in 750 000 (even greater if the patient has a rare tissue type).

There is no guarantee a patient will find a match.

FAQs and where to go:
Hema Quebec
http://www.hema-quebec.qc.ca
Canada Blood Services (Canada, except Quebec)
http://onematch.ca/registry
National Marrow Donor Program (US)
http://www.marrow.org
National Blood Service (UK)
https://secure.blood.co.uk/bonemarrow.asp

To be added to the registry you must sign a consent form (to be added only, not to consent to donating marrow) and have a blood test or swab test. That's it.

The highest chance for a match (nearly 100%) is when a donor is an identical twin or multiple. After that, a sibling offers a 25-30% chance of offering a match. I have been tested and I do not match. I am his only sibling. The chance of finding a match outside of his family is very low, but it is lowered further if potential anonymous matches are not registered in the system.

If you are a healthy adult between 18 and 45 and want to help, please consider consenting to be added to the Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

How is a match determined?
You give a swab sample and send it in or get a simple blood test. It takes about 3-4 weeks to determine a match.

Where do I go?
Go to the Hema-Quebec website and download the consent form. Complete it, and mail or fax it back to them as soon as you can.

What do I do if I want my name to be added to the registry but I don't live in Quebec?
That's fine, just get added to your country's bone marrow registry. If a match is not found in the Quebec, the national registry is consulted. Registries around the world work together to form a global database. If you cannot find information for your country after an online or offline search, contact me.

If you are not sure if you think you have consented in the past when giving blood, please confirm and also update your contact information if you have moved. They may need to find you.

What if I am not sure I want to have bone marrow extracted?
You are only consenting to be added to the registry and be notified that you match.

Who is more likely to match him?
There is a greater chance that someone from the same ethnic background will match, but the match can come from ANYWHERE. My brother will be harder to match because there are less people in the general immediate population with the same ethnic background.

ANYONE from ANY background might be a match. The match may come from the most unexpected donor, or may help someone just as fabulous as my brother.

Can I donate to him specifically?
Donations are anonymous. If you match with someone it may or may not be my brother. But you will be able to help them in the same way if you decide to donate.

What happens if I match someone?
You will be contacted by your regional program. You may undergo additional testing for matching verification and to ensure you have no infectious disease of the blood. If you consent to donation, you could be admitted for day surgery in as little as two weeks, if it's urgent. You may decline donation. If you have accepted, you can also change your mind. However, once you have been informed that the patient is being prepared for surgery (chemotherapy) you could threaten their life further if you decline after this point. You will undergo a surgical procedure to extract marrow from the pelvic bone.

How long will it take?
Bone marrow donation is typically done as day surgery and you may be in the hospital for 1 or 2 days. Expect to allot 3 days for this experience, as you should rest before and after any surgical procedure.

Yes, but does it hurt?!?
There is no excruciating pain associated with bone marrow surgery. Many people will experience discomfort and soreness in the hip or lower back region for a few days. This can be resolved with pain medication.

This is a Public Service Announcement.

Turns out that Bloglines is syndicating LJs without permission. Syndicated feeds are one of those automatic things provided by LJ (insert technical explanation that I don't understand here). The problem is that the feeds are showing previews of friends-locked posts and even, I think, private entries.

So, yeah. Not a good thing.

Luckily, meallanmouse provides a handy-dandy link to an article that gives information on how to block this, if your journal happens to be among those being syndicated (you can search for your LJ username to see if that's the case).

So, now you know.

Attention all those doing NaNoWriMo this year.

Have you checked your Regional Affiliation? If you haven't checked it this year, go do so now. Especially if your profile was updated automatically by the NaNo website.

See, there was a glitch in the system that didn't update the regional affiliation part of your profile. So, it's important that you go and rectify this now, before the end of NaNo.

To edit your profile, simply click on "Edit Profile" at the top of the page. Then click "Regional Affiliations" in the menu on the left-hand side. A list of your regional affiliations will appear on the right. Click on the little button that says "Home" next to Montreal. If you don't have a regional affiliation, select Montreal from the "Join a Region" section just below.

This Public Service Announcement was brought to you by the letters M and N and by the number 50,000.

Write on!

Just because I can. ;)

This is a public service announcement:

There is NO "a" in "definitely." The adverb comes from the adjective "definite." Note the lack of "a" at the end of that word too?

Good.

Please, for the love of God, stop spelling it "definatly." That is not a word. It does not exist in the English language. Please stop using it before people come to view it as an acceptable term to use.

I honestly don't understand how native English speakers, who come into regular contact with this word, cannot spell it to save their lives. Exceptions can be made for non-native speakers, but after they've been told a few times how to spell it properly, there's no excuse there anymore either.

That is all. You may now continue with your day.