THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 28, 1996 TAG: 9608280422
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 91 lines
At 51, Ralph Cerino was tall, tan and healthy-looking. There was little hint of the battle raging inside his body until January, when he was diagnosed with leukemia.
A bone marrow transplant was the only thing that could save his life. A daily computer search of the more than 2.2 million donor names in the National Marrow Donor Program began.
No match was found. Cerino died in May, leaving behind his 43-year-old wife, Susan, two children and lots of friends.
Tuesday, the Tidewater Builder's Association and the Tidewater Mortgage Bankers Association, with the assistance of the American Red Cross, set out to help make sure that no one else would be left without a lifesaving marrow match. The groups sponsored a blood marrow typing and blood drive in memory of Cerino, a longtime member of both associations.
The Chesapeake event was part of a stepped-up effort by the Red Cross, which operates the National Marrow Donor Program, to recruit potential donors to meet the growing demand for transplants needed to fight life-threatening diseases such as sickle cell anemia and some forms of cancer. The donor program was established in 1986.
With a transplant from a matching donor, there is about an 80 percent chance a patient will recover, according to the Red Cross.
About 2,000 people a day need a marrow transplant; about 40 of them die because a matching donor is not available.
Among them was Michelle Carew, the 18-year-old daughter of baseball hall-of-famer Rod Carew. Michelle died this spring after a seven-month battle with leukemia.
In Michelle's case, 70,000 people responded to a call for donors, but no match was found.
In all cases, the donor program works continuously to make a match, but the odds are slim. The best matches are found within patients' immediate families.
Nationwide, 70 percent of people with fatal blood diseases cannot find suitable donors within their families, and their names are added to the waiting list. About 14 area families are waiting for word that a match has been found.
Officials at the Red Cross, which maintains the computerized donor list, said they always are seeking additional names to improve the chances of finding a match.
``A blood donation or bone marrow typing is the greatest single gift a person can give,'' said Ona K. Bishop, a recruiter for the Red Cross' marrow donor program.
It's a gift the 120 potential marrow donors who came to the Chesapeake drive Tuesday gave willingly.
From across Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, builders, realty agents, mortgage bankers and other citizens rolled up their sleeves and took their places in line at the builder's association headquarters on Smith Avenue.
M. Terry Payne participated because he was a friend of Cerino's. Jeff W. Ainslie came for his sister, Susan C. Ainslie, who died of cancer on July 16 at the age of 40.
Gladys M. Fain, who is Hispanic, said she came because she felt an obligation to help; the Red Cross says that less than 6 percent of donors are minorities.
There are success stories. Mary A. Walker of Virginia Beach gave a blood sample at the drive because a friend's son lived to celebrate his 21st birthday after a bone marrow transplant to stave off leukemia.
Teresa T. Campbell of Virginia Beach said while waiting to give her blood sample, ``If you could do something to save someone's life, why wouldn't you?'' MEMO: HOW TO BE A DONOR
Potential donors must be between the ages of 18 and 60, and must be
in good general health.
Donors are asked to sign a consent form and give a brief medical
history before giving a vial of blood - about four tablespoons. The
information about the donor's marrow type is then logged into the
computerized National Marrow Donor Program.
The actual marrow removal is not done until a match has been
confirmed and the donor agrees to the next step of the procedure. Then a
Red Cross representative meets with the donor and assists with plans for
an overnight hospital stay, during which a small amount of bone marrow
is removed from the hip. There is no cost to the donor for the hospital
procedures.
For details, call the Red Cross, 446-7700. ILLUSTRATION: MORT FRYMAN photos, The Virginian-Pilot
Susan Cerino, center, lost her husband, Ralph, to leukemia in May.
No donor could be found to provide the bone marrow that could have
saved him. Tuesday's blood and bone marrow drive was held in his
honor. At left, Dennis Brown signs up to give blood.
J.R. Soriano of DePaul Hospital takes a blood sample from donor
Marcia Richard at Tuesday's Red Cross Drive. About 2,000 people a
day need a marrow transplant; about 40 of them die for lack of a
match. In this area, 14 families are waiting for word that a match
has been found. by CNB