THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701300005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 27 lines
I recently read a story in the (Fredericksburg) Free-Lance Star from The Virginian-Pilot about a 5-month-old girl who needs a bone-marrow transplant. My heart goes out to the family and my prayers are with them.
However, the description of the procedure may have scared many people away from being a donor.
I am on the National Bone Marrow Registry and I've known many donors, including my oldest son, who was 16 when he donated marrow for his younger brother. He had a positive experience.
I feel use of the word ``surgery'' was misleading. I prefer to call it bone-marrow procurement, since it doesn't involve cutting or even stitches. In an outpatient procedure, a needle is inserted. My son was asleep, felt nothing and came home the same day.
The Bone Marrow Registry needs all the donors it can get. For a minimal amount of pain and inconvenience, you could save a life. Your pain pales in comparison to the agony the patients and their families are going through.
So I urge you: Don't worry. Give from the heart as well as the hip.
JOYCE P. FAIRBANKS
Spotsylvania, Jan. 9, 1997