American letter

Dear friends

My name is Dolores. I am Rocio Arjona´s older sister and I live in Washington DC.Rocio has just turned 24 and she studies Biology, dreaming with becoming a scientist some day. But she has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This is her third episode. Two years ago she had another relapse and we did not find a good bone marrow donor forher, so after chemotherapy they made a transplant using her own cells.This time a match donor is basically her only hope and we only have 3 months to find him/her. No one in our close family has the perfect tissue type that matches hers, so I am asking for help to you to appeal to our community for help.

Illness such as Rocio's can be so critical; the only hope for cure is often a bone marrow transplant. Finding a matching marrow donor is not always easy or even possible. There simply aren't enough viable donors registered. Currently, only 2 out of 10 of those suffering from diseases like leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases ever get the treatment that could save their lives.

The NIH Marrow Donor Program is helping me. Together we are working to add donors to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). By partnering with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), your community can help more patients access the treatment they so desperately need – a bonemarrow transplant.

Joining the Registry is as easy as 1-2-3!there is no cost for you. 1. Meet the age, health and weight requirements and be willing to helpany patient in need. 2. Complete a registration form with contact information, healthhistory questions, and a signed agreement to join the Registry. 3. Give a swab of your cheek cells so your tissue type can be identified.

Please help us improve those odds. Your participation not only helps raise awareness for those currentlyin need, it just might help save someone's life. The need for donorsis critical and with your help, within our grasp.

Please feel free to contact me atmailto:lola.arj@gmail.com if you have any questions. You can also contact Dave Morgan form the NIHmarrow donor program at dmorgan@cc.nih.gov or at 301.496.0572. If you are interested in joining the program send me your name and address and we'll send all the information as well as a cotton swab tocollect a mouth cells sample.

Together, we can offer hope. And change lives.

Sincerely,
Dolores Arjona

Creating Connections. Saving Lives.
To learn more about how to help patients in need, visit marrow.org.