Join the National Bone Marrow Registry, and
enter the lottery to save a life.
A Recap of April
May 2 2012 | No Comments | posted by cheekswab | in Blog
So the updates to this site became significantly more sparse during the month of April. That was a result of a few factors:
- I didn't host any drives in April, so there weren't many drive announcements or recaps to highlight.
- I spent a couple weeks developing the Donation Stories section, which Dennis was so gracious in lending his story to. True story: Dennis was at the hospital a couple weeks ago to donate white blood cells (does his generosity ever stop?) and he was randomly fist-bumped in the hall by a girl who had seen his bone marrow donation video! She was there herself to donate marrow, and said the video really helped her out.
- I was pretty burnt out from the end of last month, where I helped coordinate four drives in two weeks (including three in the last week). At times I'm still trying to find a balance between work, Cheekswab, and being 26.
But here we are in May, and it's been four and a half months since launch, and things are still going strong. While I can't promise a constant stream of updates into the future, Read more..
Columbia University Teachers College Bone Marrow Drive NYC – Thursday 4/19
Apr 16 2012 | No Comments | posted by cheekswab | in Blog
Swab for Janet Liang at Teachers College
Just a quick drive announcement for any folks in New York City!
Janet Liang is still searching for a donor match in the bone marrow registry! Despite the fact that her initiative has helped to register over 13,000 people and resulted in marrow matches for several others, Janet herself still needs a donor. You could be the one to save her life. If you're in New York City, please consider visiting Teachers College at Columbia University THIS THURSDAY to see if you're a match!
Drive details:
- Who: Team Janet, Volunteers from Teachers College (and friends of cheekswab!)
- Where: Everett Lounge, 525 West 120th Street
- When: 3:00pm - 9:00pm
- Why: To save lives!
Remember that all the information you need with regards to the need, the process and frequently asked questions can be found throughout this site. Get informed, get convicted, and get registered!
Announcing Dennis’ Donation Story and Cheekswab on YouTube
Apr 9 2012 | No Comments | posted by cheekswab | in Blog
For the past several months I've been working on a new section of the site entitled Donation Stories. The purpose of this section is to chronicle the stories of people who have donated marrow in an honest and personal way. I've done my best to provide comprehensive information about bone marrow donation on this site -- the methods, the logistics and time commitment, and addressing some common questions -- but something was missing.
Since I'm unable to personally join the registry for medical reasons, I'll never know what it's like mentally and emotionally to go through the process of donating marrow. I can write about the parameters of the time commitment but I don't know what it's actually like to sacrifice the time for checkups and blood tests. Up until now, the emotional and mental perspective is what this site has lacked. The Donation Stories section hopes to address that need.
I've written about Dennis previously in this blog and the fact that he was asked to donate to an anonymous patient in early December. What you didn't know Read more..