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On Friday, December 30th, 2005, the Blood
Bank of Alaska and GCI combined efforts for a statewide Bone
Marrow & Blood Drive
in honor of four-time Iditarod Sled Dog Race champion Susan
Butcher,
and Michael Donaldson, a 30-year Alaska resident in need of an
immediate transplant. Blood samples were sent to Puget Sound Blood
Center in hopes of finding a match for anyone in need of a bone
marrow transplant. Donors were entered into the National Marrow
Donor Program (NMDP) registry.
The event was a huge success with a Record Breaking turnout of
donors!
Held at five different cities across Alaska, 1,147
sample tubes were drawn for the National Marrow Donor Program registry,
and
279 pints of whole blood were drawn to immediately help Alaskans
across the state. This was the largest turnout for a bone marrow
drive in the 43 year history of the Blood Bank of Alaska!
The Blood Bank of Alaska would like to thank all of the people
and volunteers for their support in making the statewide bone marrow
registry a tremendous success as well as GCI and others for their
financial contributions that helped make this event possible.
When Susan Butcher said publicly that she
had been diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), the
Blood Bank of Alaska and
GCI, Butcher’s long time sponsor, partnered on a plan to
help offset the cost of collection and of testing required for
donor placement on the NMDP Registry providing for a greater pool
of possible donors for Susan, Michael Donaldson and all who are
afflicted with AML. The blood test for bone marrow donation is
a simple five-minute procedure that draws approximately two tablespoons
of blood to be analyzed and matched with anyone in need.
Thanks to the generous contribution from GCI and
others to help offset the cost of collection and of testing for
the first 500
donors during this past event, the Blood Bank of Alaska greatly
appreciates any additional financial contributions from individuals,
businesses, and organizations willing to help support future bone
marrow drives across the state.
If you would like to make a contribution,
please visit our secure PayPal account:
Visit any Blood
Bank of Alaska center and make your donation in one of the
contribution envelopes provided.
For additional information about bone
marrow donations and how
you can help, please visit the following websites:
Butcher Rallies Marrow Donors
By MARY BETH SMETZER, Staff Writer
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Published: March 16, 2006
Butcher prepares for marrow transplant
By FRANK
GERJEVIC
Anchorage Daily News
Published: February 19, 2006 What’s
next for Alaskans tested as possible donors for Susan Butcher
By ANN POTEMPA
Anchorage Daily News
Published: January 17, 2006
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