How To Split An Atom

There are a thousand and one causes in this fair city, and often the hardest part is knowing that they exist. Today I wanted to tell you about one I ran across (thanks to Miiko Mentz) coming out of the San Francisco area. Project Michelle is a drive inspired by Michelle Maykin, a 26-year old Leukemia patient, and charged with the task of increasing awareness for and encouraging people to register as bone marrow donors.

Project Michelle

Bone marrow and the stem cells extracted from it are key components in the treatment of various blood-borne illnesses, including some types cancer. Unfortunately, there is a genetic component to bone marrow and in order for a patient to receive a transfusion, they have to be a close match to the donor. That’s where the national registry and Project Michelle come into play. Michelle, her family and the host of volunteers participating are hoping to encourage everyone but especially people of Asian decent (the group most likely to be a direct match to Michelle) to add their names to the national donors list. There hope is that by doing this they will increase the chances of Michelle finding a match.

To date, this grassroots effort has inspired over 15,000 people to add their name to the donor list and has spearheaded bone marrow drives in 12 cities across the country.

Not content with traditional methods of promotion, Project Michelle has turned to YouTube and Social Media to help spread the word. If you go to their site, you”ll find widgets, a Facebook group, a MySpace and a half dozen other ways to help spread the message through social channels. I am stunned and heartened by how well they have applied technologies that we so often use to chase our own tails to try to make a difference.

How can you help? There are plenty of ways –

First and foremost, you can add yourself to the national donor list. Even if you are not a match for Michelle, you may help to save the life of someone else with a blood-borne illness. It’s as simple ordering a kit, swabbing your cheek and sending it back in to be typed.

If you are not able to make a donation, you can always show your support by spreading the word. As I said earlier, Michelle’s site makes it extraordinarily easy to do so from the comfort of your own home. Finally, they are always looking for people to volunteer their time and effort to start drives in their home cities.

Here are a few facts about bone marrow transplant, for those interested in helping this cause:

• Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer that starts in cells that would normally turn into white blood cells, progresses quickly, and if not treated could be fatal in a few months.

• Treatment for AML typically begins with chemotherapy, using anti-cancer drugs that attack cancer cells. If AML doesn’t go away, then a stem cell / bone marrow transplant may be attempted in younger patients if a suitable stem cell donor can be found.

• Today, 70% of transplants are non-surgical and can be completed using stem cells from the bloodstream through a Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (PBSCT), while 30% of transplants are done through marrow.

• For PBSCT donors, symptoms nearly always disappear one or two days after donating. For marrow donation, donors can expect to be back to work, school and other activities within one to seven days.

If nothing else, visit her site and add a Stumble or bookmark to the pile, every little bit counts. I hope, like Erica Murray, a donor comes through soon. Also, keep in mind all of the other people out there who might not be as high profile who also face problems like this but don’t have the manpower that Michelle has been lucky enough to muster. Emru Townsend, for instance, is still looking for a match.

There are hundreds of little ways to help everyday, and this is only one of them but it is one that you should strongly consider doing.

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