It has come to my attention that a resident of Park Slope is in URGENT need of a bone marrow transplant. Jennifer Jones Austin a beautiful wife, mother and advocate, has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Her
chances of surviving the disease are slim unless she undergoes a bone
marrow transplant within the next few months. Jen and her family need our immediate actions to ensure her
survival.
A few minutes and a simple cheek swab is all that is
needed to determine if you can save a person's life. IF YOU ARE A MATCH THE DONATION PROCESS IS AS SIMPLE AS GIVING BLOOD AND NO LONGER REQUIRES A SURGICAL PROCEDURE.
Match Registry is in great need of registered
donors, especially those of African and Hispanic descent.
Jennifer, 41, is a wife and the mother of two children, ages 12 and 7. A graduate
of Rutgers University and Fordham Law School, she has been a fierce
advocate for children and families. She has dedicated herself for over 20 years to helping improve the lives of lower income and disadvantaged children and their families and has been an advocate for children and their families professionally and personally. She has done this through her work as an attorney in the private and public sectors, a senior official for the City of New York and for the State of New York, and an executive for the United Way of New York City, and in her personal life through board service and civic activities. Jennifer's efforts have benefited thousands of people across New York State and beyond, improving their chances for better health, education and a safe living environment.
YOU CAN HELP JENNIFER by becoming a registered donor with the Be The Match
Registry and being tested to determine if you are a compatible match
with her. It is important to reach as many people as possible to
ask them to be tested. In registering, you have the potential to help
extend Jennifer's life and also to help other people in need.
Today’s
medical technology allows testing of potential donors as well as actual
transplants with little disruption to the life of the donor(s). Testing is as simple as a swab of the inside of the cheek. The actual
donor process is as simple as giving blood. The donor gives blood from
an arm; a machine separates the blood-forming cells and returns the
blood to the donor through the other arm.
To help Jennifer, you can register yourself and others as donors by going online to _http://join.marrow.org/JJA1068_. Note that the "*_*promo code" is *__*JJA1068*_. *You can receive an
at-home testing kit without charge.
You can also attend a blood
drive. Visit http://www.savejenaustin.com/events.php to see if there is one near you in the coming weeks.
Unfortunately,
because African Americans and Hispanics are dramatically
underrepresented in the National Bone Marrow Registries—Caucasian counterparts have a 92+% chance of finding a match—we they have significantly less than half of that chance of finding a match in
the current pool of donors recorded in the Registry in order to
survive.
Recent statistical research indicates that there are more
than 5 Million Caucasian registrants and only about 500K registrants of
African descent.
Please also forward this post to your friends,
colleagues, churches and synagogues, organization affiliations, and ask
them to register and be tested. Every person matters. Even if you don't
match with Jennifer, you may match another and help save a life.