Greg Chion Blood Drive

To Go On Despite Red Cross Strike

By Kaaren Valenta

A blood drive dedicated to Greg Chion, a local teenager with leukemia, is scheduled to take place on Monday, May 8, from 1 to 6:30 pm at the Sandy Hook Firehouse, despite a strike by American Red Cross workers.

About 200 American Red Cross workers who collect blood donations and deliver them to hospitals went on strike on May 1, leaving the organization understaffed but still operating.

Jamie Caldas, a Red Cross spokesperson, said managers who have been trained to draw blood would be conducting the blood drive in Newtown, although the hours of operation have been shortened. Originally the blood drive was to be conducted all day.

The day after the blood drive, Greg Chion, 16, is scheduled to enter Westchester Medical Center to begin a stem cell transplant that doctors hope will cure the acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) that was discovered in his body, along with Lyme disease, after he became ill last Christmas.

“You wouldn’t believe the volume of blood – bags and bags – he has already received,” his mother, Ginny Chion, said. “He’s had lots of 15-minute surgeries.”

After several months of chemotherapy, the outlook for Greg is good, she said.

“He has been in remission since 35 days after he was diagnosed and the treatment began,” Mrs Chion said. “His hair is beginning to grow back. He is going to be one of the captains of the boys’ swim and diving team next year and one of the drum majors. He will be inducted into the National Honor Society this week.”

The leukemia count in Greg’s body has dropped from 65 percent to less than 6 percent, Mrs Chion said. To cure him, doctors plan to do a stem cell transplant using marrow extracted from his sister, Jennifer, 21, a junior studying diagnostic imaging at Quinnapiac College.

“Jen was a perfect 6-6 match,” Mrs Chion said. “She donated marrow four weeks ago and it has been frozen.”

On May 9 Greg will begin a process that will kill all the cancer cells in his body. It will also deplete his immune system. Then the new marrow will be injected through a catheter in his chest.

“He will get the rejection disease, but the doctors are confident that they can control it,” Mrs Chion said. “He will be in isolation, then people will be able to stay with him at the hospital if they wear gowns, gloves, and masks. It depends upon his white blood count.”

Because of the ongoing treatment, Greg is being tutored at home, and will continue to be tutored throughout the summer. “He’s taking a full load of honors classes,” his mother explained.

The blood drive is dedicated to Greg, but he will receive the blood he needs in New York. If the supply of a particular blood type is in short supply in a state, it is obtained from an adjacent state through a reciprocal agreement.

The Connecticut strike, the first by Red Cross workers in the state in 25 years, could reduce daily blood collection in the state by as much as 80 percent, according to Red Cross spokesperson Lynn Townshend. The Red Cross had some 6,500 units, about an 11-day supply, when the strike began. Blood will be brought from other states if it is needed, Ms Townshend said.

The workers on strike are technician-drivers, nurses, lab workers, and phlebotomists, who draw the blood, represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The workers say they are unhappy about long hours, frequent schedule changes, and increasing health benefit costs. On Sunday night, they rejected the organization’s latest contract offer 168-19. Some called the offer insulting.

Union negotiator Jeffrey Jump said Monday that a federal mediator wants talks to resume by the end of the week.

The blood drive is co-sponsored by WIN and the Western Connecticut Federal Credit Union. For each unit of blood donated, the credit union will donate $5 to Newtown Youth Services and $5 to the fundraising effort to provide thermal imaging cameras for the local volunteer fire companies. 

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)