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GRAND JUNCTION — Grand Junction Firefighter/Paramedic Chris Bryson hasn’t found a bone marrow donor for the transplant he needs to fight leukemia.
On Saturday, all 127 of his fellow firefighters in Grand Junction will be tested to see if one of them could be a marrow match.
Anyone else willing to help Bryson or become a match for others can come to the DoubleTree Hotel, 743 Horizon Drive, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to submit a cheek swab and enter their name on the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. The registry contains names of potential marrow donors from across the country. More than 6,000 people in need of a transplant search the registry daily.
The Local 2808 Grand Junction Firefighters Union is sponsoring the drive. Grand Junction Firefighter/Paramedic Cory Black wanted to have a marrow drive in Grand Junction because he was concerned for his colleague and had seen someone in his own life benefit from a marrow transplant.
“You never know, one of us might be a match, someone in the city might be a match,” Black said.
The drive will bring Colorado Marrow Donor staff from Denver to collect cheek swabs, a preliminary way to test someone for marrow properties. The firefighters and city of Grand Junction employees can get tested for free. People with ethnically diverse backgrounds also get swabbed for free, because they’re in high demand on the registry. Caucasians will be charged $30 to enter their name on the registry.
Anyone age 18 to 60 that meets health guidelines can get their name on the registry. People should bring family members’ addresses and phone numbers with them Saturday so staff can locate a donor if their address or phone number
changes, said Julie Scott, spokeswoman for the Colorado Marrow Donor Program.
Donating marrow is like donating blood, only finding a match is more difficult, Scott said. Marrow recipients find a match in their family 30 percent of the time. For the other 70 percent, finding a marrow donor requires people to meet a number of antibody and blood type criteria. Because of the numerous criteria, Local 2808 Union President Kevin Kuhlman said there’s a slim chance the perfect match for Bryson will be found this weekend. But getting on the registry could save someone else’s life, if not Bryson’s.
“We have intentions of finding a donor for one of our brothers, but you get placed in the national bank and could get called five or six months from now for someone anywhere in the country, and that’s a good feeling,” Kuhlman said.
Reach Emily Anderson at eanderson@gjfreepress.com.
On Saturday, all 127 of his fellow firefighters in Grand Junction will be tested to see if one of them could be a marrow match.
Anyone else willing to help Bryson or become a match for others can come to the DoubleTree Hotel, 743 Horizon Drive, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to submit a cheek swab and enter their name on the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. The registry contains names of potential marrow donors from across the country. More than 6,000 people in need of a transplant search the registry daily.
The Local 2808 Grand Junction Firefighters Union is sponsoring the drive. Grand Junction Firefighter/Paramedic Cory Black wanted to have a marrow drive in Grand Junction because he was concerned for his colleague and had seen someone in his own life benefit from a marrow transplant.
“You never know, one of us might be a match, someone in the city might be a match,” Black said.
The drive will bring Colorado Marrow Donor staff from Denver to collect cheek swabs, a preliminary way to test someone for marrow properties. The firefighters and city of Grand Junction employees can get tested for free. People with ethnically diverse backgrounds also get swabbed for free, because they’re in high demand on the registry. Caucasians will be charged $30 to enter their name on the registry.
Anyone age 18 to 60 that meets health guidelines can get their name on the registry. People should bring family members’ addresses and phone numbers with them Saturday so staff can locate a donor if their address or phone number
changes, said Julie Scott, spokeswoman for the Colorado Marrow Donor Program.
Donating marrow is like donating blood, only finding a match is more difficult, Scott said. Marrow recipients find a match in their family 30 percent of the time. For the other 70 percent, finding a marrow donor requires people to meet a number of antibody and blood type criteria. Because of the numerous criteria, Local 2808 Union President Kevin Kuhlman said there’s a slim chance the perfect match for Bryson will be found this weekend. But getting on the registry could save someone else’s life, if not Bryson’s.
“We have intentions of finding a donor for one of our brothers, but you get placed in the national bank and could get called five or six months from now for someone anywhere in the country, and that’s a good feeling,” Kuhlman said.
Reach Emily Anderson at eanderson@gjfreepress.com.
