Please join our Facebook group to support Susan as well:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=173247686026

As many of you know, our mom, Susan Mitchell, was recently diagnosed with advanced myelodysplasia (MDS, also known as pre-leukemia).  MDS patients experience poor blood cell production due to pre-mature death of blood cells in their bone marrow.  Treatment requires chemotherapy followed by transplant of blood-forming stem cells – the only remedy that has the potential of curing MDS.  

Susan is the proud mother of Katina, Serena and Wesley and has two grandchildren Katie and Robby.  She was working as a lactation consultant helping families with their newborn children until she started her treatment.  She can't wait to get better so she can help families again.

Mom has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for the last two months and will continue to do so through December.  Her transplant was scheduled for this upcoming January, however we recently learned that she has no matches in the current bone marrow donor registry.  Please register by the end of November to help our mom find a donor match.

People who do not find matches in the marrow donor registry have three less-than-ideal options:

1. Mismatched Stem Cell Transplant – transplanting stem cells from imperfectly matched donors.  Though this is an option, the survival rate after such a transplant is severely compromised.
2. Umbilical Cord Derived Stem Cell Transplant – transplanting stem cells extracted from new-born umbilical cords.  Likelihood of complications from this option is also high.
3. Do nothing, wait and see.  Choosing this route eliminates any chance of survival - this option is really not an option.

As you can see, the best option for our mom is to find a matched donor.  We understand this is like finding a needle in a haystack but we are staying positive and praying for the best.  We hope by visiting this site you will consider being tested and joining the registry.  It’s incredibly easy to be a donor, all you need to do is:

1. Sign up to be a donor at: http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_Now/join_now.html Use Promotion Code: CM869
2. Once you register they will mail you a swab test kit.  All you will need to do is take a sample with the swab from your mouth.  After the swab is complete you will just need to mail the kit back to the national donor marrow program in the pre-paid packaging.
3. You can instead go to a bone marrow drive in person at http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_in_Person/index.html
4. They will send your sample to the lab and will inform you of your HLA type.
5. Compare those HLA types against our Mom's HLA type
6. If you are identified as a matched donor for PBSC you will be expected to donate blood to someone in need.  This is spelled out in detail in the Q&A section.

NOTE: When you are registering online to be a donor it appears as if they ask for a $52 donation. However, if you continue with the registration the $52 is removed and the kit is mailed to you for free.

Even if we are unable to find a match for Mom, we may be able to help the other thousands of patients searching for a match.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit the site - your support means the world to us.