Drumroll Please!!!!! 112 Donors Registered!!!

We set out to register 100 Donors in 100 Days...did we do it???
Our final total is........112!!  We did it!  YOU did it!!  Awesome!

Thanks to all who registered and helped to spread the word!  You have made us proud and more importantly, you may have the opportunity to save a life! 

This drive was in honor (and in memory) of our transplant friends and families from floor G-11 at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.  Thank you for your courage and spirit.  We love you.

The Team Jo and Friends Donor Drive is over, but the journey continues for patients in need.  We hope our 112 donors will have the chance to make a difference. 

To register with "Be The Match" go to www.marrow.org


Team captains - Jo Thompson Szymanski (Stem Cell Transplant Survivor) and Carol Morris (Caregiver/Friend)

Only 1 more week in our Donor Drive!

Team Jo and Friend's Donor Drive will end May 28th, 2011.  We currently have 95 donors registered!  We are so close to reaching our goal of 100 Donors in 100 Days.  Please don't wait!  Join our team today!

US Citizens (age 18-60) click here to register with "Be The Match".

Outside US click here to find your registry. 

Team Jo and Friends Needs YOU!

Join the stem cell / bone marrow donor registry today!

US Citizens (age 18-60) click here to register with "Be The Match".

Outside US click here to find your registry. 

Our goal - to register 100 Donors in 100 Days.  We have 79 donors registered and about 3 weeks left in our drive.  Don't wait!! 

Registering on-line takes about 10 minutes.  You are mailed a cheek swab kit and you return it in the mail.  Painless and easy!

If you are found to be a match, in most cases stem cells are collected from the blood stream similar to donating blood and you will have flu like symptoms for a few days.  This method requires no surgery!!

Please share this info with your friends. 

www.teamjoandfriends.blogspot.com

Thanks from your team captains,

Jo Thompson Szymanski (stem cell transplant survivor) and
Carol Morris (caregiver/friend)

Getting Closer to Our Goal!

As of May 3, 2011 we have 68 donors registered!  We only have a little over 3 weeks left to reach our goal of 100 Donors in 100 Days!  Please share today's post with a friend!

Needed:  Stem Cell / Bone Marrow Donors - Age 18 - 60!  Join Team Jo and Friends and give hope to someone looking for a life-saving match!  The process is much easier than you might think!!

Step 1:  Register on-line with "Be the Match" National Marrow Donor Program (or your country's registry) by going to www.teamjoandfriends.blogspot.com  "Joining the Registry" is PAIN-FREE and so EASY!  All it takes is a swab of your cheek!

Step 2:  Your tissue typing takes about 6 weeks. You then receive a congratulatory letter from "Be the Match" (or your country's registry) with your official Bone Marrow Registry donor code.

Step 3:  If your tissue typing matches a patient in need of a stem cell / bone marrow transplant,  you will be contacted by "Be the Match" (or your country's registry).  This could happen next month, next year, 10 years down the road or never.

Step 4:  If you are a match, you will be asked to donate in one of two ways. Most commonly, stem cells are collected from the donor's bloodstream similar to donating blood!  No surgery, no sedation!  The traditional and now less common procedure uses a syringe under sedation to extract liquid bone marrow from the pelvic bone. The level of discomfort is considered to be minor. The reward is you could possibly save a life!

There is no cost to the donor to donate. All costs are covered by the patient's insurance or "Be the Match" (or your country's registry).

Patients all over the world are hoping to find a life saving match.  It could be you!

Don't wait! Register today!

http://www.teamjoandfriends.blogspot.com/


Thank you from your team captains -
Jo Thompson Szymanski (stem cell transplant survivor)
and Carol Morris (caregiver/friend)


P.S.  Please feel free to share this info in any way you feel appropriate - facebook, newsletter, family, friends, etc.  Thanks.



"Triplet Mom and Dad" / registered donors David & BeLynda show how easy the swab test is!



Our First International Donor Registers!

Up until now, all of our team members have come from the US.  (If you live outside the US and have registered, please email us and let us know!!)  Congratulations to Tajali Hall from Calgary, Alberta, Canada for being our first international registered donor!  Tajali is an up and coming star in the line dance community - a wonderful dancer, choreographer and instructor with a heart of gold! 

Here's what Tajali had to say: 

I just wanted to let you know I joined OneMatch (the Canadian Stem Cell and Marrow Network). I started thinking about it more than a month ago but kept hesitating for so many different reasons. But it's funny how God works -- once He put it on my heart, He just never let it go!

The day after I first thought of registering as a donor there was a news story on TV about a 7-year-old little boy here in Calgary, Alberta who has been waiting several years to find a match. Just that day, they had found one for him. A week later, there was another story on the news about another stem cell donor. And two or three days after that, my university announced that it was doing a OneMatch donor drive at school.

It seemed that every time I tried to push it out of my mind, God kept bringing it back to the front. Finally it hit me like a ton of bricks -- I'm so blessed to be living my life to the fullest, and if I can give that opportunity to somebody else, that's a responsibility I have, not a choice I can choose to ignore!

I just wanted to thank you so much for doing the donor drive, and for providing so much information online to help answer questions and alleviate fears about the procedures. This isn't something I ever would have thought of doing if it wasn't for Jo.

5 weeks left to join our team!!!

Dear Friends,

So far, 61 people have joined the registry through our 100 day drive. With five weeks to go, we need 39 more!

Every new potential donor is one more possibility for saving the life of someone with bone marrow disease. So to those of you who have joined the registry, thank you again for helping us meet our goal of registering 100 donors in 100 days. And to those of you who are thinking about it, please consider joining today!

Thank you for supporting this cause.

Your Team Captains,

Jo Thompson Szymanski and Carol Morris

Does It Hurt???? The Truth About Being A Donor!

Hello everyone!  The #1 question we get about being a stem cell/bone marrow donor is.....drum roll please...."Does it hurt???"  So, let's answer that and some of the other questions that have come up.

Does it hurt to join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry? 
To register is PAINLESS!!!  In the US and most other countries, you swab your cheek with a cotton swab and return it in the mail.  Soooo easy!!  You are "registered" and added to the Bone Marrow Registry with 10 million other potential donors.  Then, you wait.  If you are a match for someone, you will be contacted.  This could happen next month, next year, 10 years down the road or possibly never.  If you are a match and can't donate at the time you are contacted...say you are pregnant...you can decline.

How much does it cost to join the Registry? 
In the US, there is no required "fee" to register with "Be The Match" if you go through our link during our 100 day donor drive.

If I am a match, does it hurt to donate stem cells/bone marrow?
If you are found to be a match...great!  You have the chance to possibly save a life!  The donation process has greatly improved in recent years.  There are two methods of donating and in both types, donors go home the same day they donate.  You can register for one or both types. 

PBSC (peripheral blood stem cell) Method:  This is the newer and more common form of donating.  Stem cells are collected from the donor's bloodstream similar to donating blood!  There is no "surgery" involved!   The donor receives 2 injections of "Neupogen" daily for about 3 days...Jo's brother Eddie actually gave them to himself.  No sugar-coating here...each person is different, but the shots will make your body feel achy and you will probably have a headache...similar to having the flu.  Tylenol will usually take care of that.

The Neupogen encourages the donor's bone marrow to produce extra stem cells (baby cells that in this case become white blood cells) and those extra stem cells are released into the donor's bloodstream.  On the day of "collection" the donor will have an IV line placed in each arm.  One line takes the blood out, it goes through a machine that captures the stem cells and the other line gives the rest of the blood back.  This process takes about 6 hours and you will be able to watch TV or movies or just rest.  Within 2-3 days, the "flu-like" symptoms are gone and the donor's blood returns to normal.  The collected stem cells are usually frozen and then sent to the patient.  This is called a "stem cell transplant."

Marrow Donation:  On rare occasions, the traditional method is still used to collect actual bone marrow.  No Neupogen shots are required for this.  The donor is sedated and feels no pain during the procedure.  Bone marrow fluid is drawn out from the back of the pelvic bone using a syringe.  The donor's lower back and hip area will be sore for a few days to a week.  When these cells are given to the patient it is called a "bone marrow transplant."

Does it cost anything to be a donor?
No.  The cost is covered by the patient's insurance and/or the registry.  If the donor has to miss any work, it is usually covered by "temporary disability" from your workplace.  Some states provide coverage for that as well.

Will I meet my recipient?
The patient and donor are "anonymous" for a least the first year.  Often, they will eventually meet or make contact if they both want to.  Get out your Kleenex and watch how 7 year old Lee was finally able to meet his "super-hero" donor from a totally different country!

What else can I do to support this cause?  
 - Spread the word.  Email your friends.  Post on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites.  
- Make a tax deductible financial contribution to "Be The Match" in the U.S. or to the registry in the country you live if you live outside the U.S..

We have 52 registered stem cell/bone marrow donors!!  Awesome!  We are over half-way to our goal of 100 Donors in 100 Days!  If you are thinking of registering...don't wait! 
Be someone's Hero!  Register now!  Thank you!!

Team captains - Jo Thompson Szymanski and Carol Morris

Update #5 - On A Roll!!

We are on a roll here!  We have 47 registered bone marrow donors.  That's almost half way to our goal of 100 donors in 100 days.  If you have already registered, please email us so we can add you to our count!!  If you haven't registered yet, please join our team today!!


Our 100 day drive goes until May 28th.  So, please consider sharing this information with anyone you think might be touched by the need for bone marrow donors...think facebook, church, newsletters, email, working out at the gym, etc! 


From Jo:  I was talking with another mom at Anna's gymnastics class yesterday and she was telling me of a little girl she had known with leukemia.  The little girl waited and waited for a match to be found...no such luck.  She eventually passed on to a better place.  As I watched my healthy daughter do cartwheels and handstands, it broke my heart to hear her story.  The reality is that it could happen to any of us at any time with no warning.  Please do something today that could help save a life tomorrow - register! 

A Good Day!!

Great news!!  Just today we went from 37 registered bone marrow donors to 40!  Let's keep this ball rolling.  Please share our blog address with your friends so we can keep our numbers growing.  Donors save lives! 

Update #4, help Marie and Jo makes the news!

Team Jo and Friend's goal is to register 100 Bone Marrow Donors in 100 Days.  Today is day 33 of our drive.  The good news is we have 37 donors registered that we know of.  Awesome!  The bad news is that's the same number as last week!!  So, if you've been putting off registering, please don't wait.

Here's Marie Brady, one of the many patients in desperate need of a donor ASAP!

After 26 years in the Military / Reserves Forces - 16 in the Army and 10 in the Air Force, Marie retired as a Major 10 years ago...Private to Major with Warrant Officer in between.

Marie states that "In October 2010, I was diagnosed with Leukemia. I have been told that without a bone marrow transplant I may only live 2 to 3 more years. Of the 8 million people in the National Bone Marrow Registry none are currently a match for me. I have helped save many lives over the last 27 years (as a Physician Assistant). Now I need YOU to help save MY life and the lives of the 10,000 people a year who are diagnosed with leukemia and other blood related diseases in need of a transplant."
There is no special training needed, just the commitment to help.  Please register."

So, you might be just the match that Marie is looking for. 
Let's make this a big week!!!  Click here to sign up today!

Also, see Jo's reunion with her mom's line dance class in the link to the right under In the News!

Weekly Report #3

We are up to 37 registered potential donors, all from the United States.  Thanks to all of you for supporting this life saving cause!
So who is going to be the first of our team from outside the U.S. to join the registry? Click here to find out how.

We are trying to keep track of who is joining the registry (Be the Match will not release names) so please email us with your name, city and state when you register so we know who you are!

Other news to report:
- We added a link (under In the News) to a video about a young boy who gets to meet his real life super hero, the woman who donated bone marrow to save his life.  It is a heartwarming story.
- Victor, Max and Kiana are each still looking for a bone marrow match. Click here to read their stories.

Every new potential donor is one more possibility for saving the life of someone with bone marrow disease.  So to those of you who have joined the registry, thank you again for helping us meet our goal.  And to those of you who are thinking about it, please consider joining today! Click here to find out how.

For those of you who cannot join the registry, you can still support the bone marrow registry by helping to spread the word.  If you have friends or family whom you think may be touched by the need for bone marrow donors, then please share with them our team website, www.teamjoandfriends.blogspot,com.  For other ways to support the registry, click here.

Weekly Report #2

Again, great news!  We now have 25 registered donors that we know about!  Make sure you email us when you register so we can count you in our 100!  We are still waiting for our first donor from a country outside the U.S.

See the becoming a donor page to read a quote from a gentleman who donated recently.  Plus, two newsworthy links have been added just above the slide show to the right. 

We are one quarter of the way to meeting our goal - please join us today!! 

Does Your State Provide Paid Medical Leave for Bone Marrow Donors?

January, 2011, California enacts SB 1304, a Paid Leave Law for Organ and Bone Marrow Donors. SB 1304 provides private sector employees that donate life-saving bone marrow or organs paid, protected leave from their employment. This bill requires any business entity that employs 15 or more employees to provide up to 30 days of paid leave for an organ donation and up to 5 days of paid leave for a bone marrow donation.   Click here to read more about this new law.


You don't live in California? Google to see if your state also provides paid leave for medical donors. To encourage people to join the registry and save lives, many states do.

Save a Life.

Be a Hero.

Join the Registry.

Weekly Report #1!!!

Great news!  We currently have 15 registered bone marrow donors!  Not bad for one week!  That's more than two per day!  Thank you to the donors who have already registered.
 
Please email us after you register so we can make sure we count you toward our goal of 100 donors in 100 days!  We will be updating our total on a weekly basis...so stay tuned!

Our first official donor!

Congratulations, Karin, on being our first donor!  Here's what Karin had to say about registering: 


Carol, because of your post, I went ahead and signed up.
Here's what I learned: 
1.  You receive a kit in the mail (I thought I'd have to visit a doctor, which I didn't want to do!)
2.  If you go through your link, it's free (I paid it ahead for someone else, though)
3.  It takes about 15 minutes to fill out all the info and read all the questions.

It makes me a little nervous, but who wouldn't want to do a short outpatient procedure to help someone who needs it? 

  
Thanks again Karin for being our #1 donor!!

NEWS FLASH: Jo Thompson Szymanski Celebrates 100 Days Post Transplant and Kicks Off a Worldwide On-Line Bone Marrow Donor Drive!

Today, February 18th, 2011 is officially Jo Thompson Szymanski’s 100th day post bone marrow transplant.  She was lucky that her brother, Eddie, was a perfect match and now her bone marrow is 100% healthy and disease free!   

To celebrate this good news, we are kicking off a Worldwide On-line Bone Marrow Donor Drive.  Our goal is to register 100 bone marrow donors in 100 days!  There are several ways to participate even if you can’t be a donor.  Click on the tabs above for more details. 

Team Captains Jo and Carol Morris (one of Jo's caregivers during transplant) dedicate this drive to their new friends - the other transplant patients they met at MD Anderson.  What an inspiration you all are! 

Your help in the fight against bone marrow disease could save a life! Thank you all for your support!

Your Team Captains,

Jo Thompson Szymanski and Carol Morris