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| Bone Marrow Testing Drive
“People always ask me what they can do to make a difference,” says Lincoln Fire Fighter Shaughn Millett. “Here’s something almost everybody can do, and it doesn’t cost anything.”
On Saturday, May 10th, Penobscot Valley Hospital is hosting a bone marrow testing drive in Conference Room A from 10-3. The idea came from Millett, who asked the hospital to sponsor the drive, organized through the Maine Leukemia Foundation. Millett’s friend, former full time Lincoln Fire Fighter, Billy Townsend, has been diagnosed with leukemia. Townsend, who needs a bone marrow transplant, has sought the help of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Massachusetts, but the institute has been unable to find a good match. “He’s been built up and let down a couple of times, now,” says Millett. “Billy’s got such a great attitude and feels that even if this local drive doesn’t help him, maybe it will help someone else.”
Townsend grew up in Calais, where he lives now, but he worked for just under three years as a full time fire fighter in Lincoln. “Billy gave a lot of his time and energy to the Lincoln community,” says PVH Spokesperson Allison Bankston. “This is our chance to offer a helping hand to him and others who may need transplants.”
To be tested all an individual has to do is:
1) Fill out a registration form
2) Have a brief conversation with a health screener
3) Allow the inside of the cheek to be swabbed.
“There are no needles for this part,” says Bankston. “The testing is painless.”
The results of the tests will be entered into a national bone marrow database. Paul Greenier of the Maine Leukemia Foundation says about 10,000 bone marrow transplants are done a year in the U.S., and they especially need more minorities who are willing to be donors. Greenier will be the MLF representative at the testing drive on Saturday. The life of his eldest daughter, Renelle, was saved thanks to a bone marrow transplant a number of years ago. The match came through the national registry, and she met her donor about five years ago at fund raiser for the cause. Since then, Greenier has been doing all he could help others join the registry. “Even if you are a good match for someone, there is no expense to you as the donor,” says Greenier. “Generally, insurance companies or the family of the cancer patent pays all the medical bills associated with the bone marrow donation.”
To be tested, you must be 18 to 60 years old and in good overall health. There is no cost for the testing, but the MLF does ask that people consider a $25 donation to help cover the cost of processing the testing sample. “Money should not be an issue,” says Bankston. “It’s about saving lives and giving people another chance—not dollars and cents.”
Millett and a number of Townsend’s friends will be at PVH to help with the drive on Saturday, along with PVH staff and volunteers. Millett says, “There’s just no good reason NOT to help.”
For information on this and other news from PVH, contact Allison Bankston at abankston@pvhme.org.
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