Off Topic Post, but important From
elmyraemilie:
A friend from fandom has recently been diagnosed with aplastic anemia. This is a vicious constellation of syndromes and disease that causes the bone marrow to stop producing all types of blood cells: no red cells, no platelets, no white cells--nothing. It's a frightening diagnosis, even now, when modern medicine is conquering so many fatal conditions. There was a time when aplastic anemia was invariably fatal, but that's not the case any more. Anti-immunosuppresive drugs and selective transfusions can stretch time for those diagnosed, hopefully until a match for a bone marrow transplant can be found.
That's the hitch, of course. The person I'm talking about has a rare blood type, so finding a match will be an arduous process.
Please go to the
National Marrow Donor Program website and find out how simple it is to register as a marrow donor. The process of donating is not nearly as difficult and complicated as it was even 10 years ago. You--you, yourself, sitting there reading this--could actually save another person's life.
Maybe even my friend's life, this vivid member of our community, this mother, wife, writer, and friend. Please go get the information and sign up to be a marrow donor. Thousands of people with aplastic anemia seek a marrow donor every day; unless their match has taken the time to register, their lifesaving search will be in vain. What a tragic loss.
Spread the word. Copy and paste this like the best meme in the world into every journal and blog you run. Get the word out. Ask people to register as bone marrow donors. Please register yourself--it could be the best thing you've ever done.