ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
Team Andrews members have the unique opportunity to make a difference and possibly save a life in the second annual installation-wide bone marrow drive Nov. 17 through Dec. 5. The bone marrow drive benefits DoD personnel and dependants needing a transplant.
"There are over 500 people in the DoD, including active duty and their family members, who are sick with disorders like leukemia and need lifesaving bone marrow transplants," said Capt. Steve Skipper, Presidential Airlift Group mission director and bone marrow drive co-installation project officer. "The bone marrow drive at Andrews directly supports DoD personnel. This is the second year Team Andrews has hosted a Bone Marrow drive and we are extremely excited to host this year's installation-wide drive again."
Last year, largely through the organizational efforts of Captain Skipper and Capt. James Christensen, 1st Helicopter Squadron pilot and Bone Marrow Drive co-installation project officer, Andrews set an installation record of 1,200 registrants. "That was the highest average for a base, which ultimately spanned across the Air Force enterprise," said Captain Skipper.
"We are pushing the throttles hard and would like to register over 2,000 potential donors this year. I believe we can meet -- and exceed our goal," added Captain Christensen.
"Anyone with access to the base is eligible to be a donor -- retirees, civilians, dependants and military members," said Captain Christensen. "There are very few disqualifiers and they are serious such as HIV and active cancer and if you've been in remission for one year, you can register. You can also register if you've been turned down to be a blood donor or if you've lived in the U.K., Africa or Iraq, had a recent tattoo, received anti-malaria medication or the anthrax vaccination." Captain Christensen explained that flight crew and pilots can register to be donors, as well.
Captain Skipper explained that bone marrow donation is easier than many think. "Bone marrow donation is much easier than ever before. There is a new way to extract bone marrow. A week prior to the extraction, you are given medication that helps pull out bone marrow into your blood stream. You are then connected to a machine, just like giving platelets, that pulls blood out one arm, spins it through a machine that puts the bone marrow cells into a bag, and then the remaining blood is sent back into the other arm. The process takes about two hours; you watch a movie and are given juice and cookies throughout the process. It's that easy! The other method of extracting bone marrow is through the needle extraction through the lower back area."
Captain Skipper said there is little pain associated with being a donor. "Most will feel achy all over -- like you're getting the flu or if they extract bone marrow from your lower back, you may feel soreness in that area for about a week -- it's a small price to pay to save a life!"
"If you are identified as a match and decide to donate, the DoD will pay for all expenses for the procedure, including a spouse or friend to accompany you to George Washington University in DC. Although the procedure is only a few hours, you are given five days in a hotel and all expenses paid for two." Captain Skipper said that if the military member is on deployment, the military member would return to the U.S. for the procedure. "We have already had at least 17 personnel from Iraq return home to save a life," added Captain Skipper.
"The DoD is the number one center in the country providing donors," said Captain Skipper. "In 2006, 445 DoD personnel were identified as donors." Captain Skipper explained the donor registry is especially important since most people will not find a match within their own family as there is only a 25 percent chance for a match.
"For many of these patients, a transplant may be the best and only hope of a cure," said Captain Christensen. "Each year, thousands of lives are lost for lack of a matching marrow donor -- Team Andrews can certainly make a difference in this endeavor! The most significant benefit of the bone marrow drive is having a marvelous opportunity to assist our inspiration DoD family in a time of need."
Captain Christensen said the drive will kick-off on Nov. 17 and end on Dec. 5, "The bone marrow drive will conclude with a final rally at the BX. Our AAFES partners have graciously offered us a location within their BX vendor area -- we will have numerous volunteers on hand to assist registrants on Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m." Andrews personnel wanting to donate ahead of the Dec. 5 rally should contact their respective wing representatives at their workplaces.