Bienkowski Marrow Registry Drive

Will Benefit Many

Anyone who has ever thought about becoming a bone marrow donor — and even those who have not — is being asked to consider acting now for the benefit of a well-known Newtown resident and school district business manager, Ronald Bienkowski.

Mr Bienkowski was recently diagnosed with a rare unclassified form of leukemia and will require a bone marrow transplant as part of his treatment. Since an exact tissue-type match is needed to achieve the best outcome, the more people willing to be tested, the greater chance a match will be found.

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) will conduct a bone marrow donor registry drive Monday, March 30, from 3 to 7 pm, at the Newtown Middle School cafeteria, 11 Queen Street.

Anyone age 18–60 can volunteer to be a bone marrow donor. Volunteers will be asked to complete required forms, and agree to be listed in the National Bone Marrow Registry.

Karen Grosso, who is helping organize the activity, said the test itself is a simple cheek swab, and a qualifying donor’s name can be removed from the registry at any time.

“By joining the donor registry, volunteers are not only honoring Ron, they are giving hope to patients everywhere,” Ms Grosso told The Bee.

On any given day, more than 6,000 men, women, and children are searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a life-saving donor. These patients have leukemia, lymphoma, and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by a bone marrow or cord blood transplant.

For many of these patients, a transplant may be the best and only hope of a cure, according to the NMDP.

The first step to becoming a bone marrow donor is to join the NMDP Registry at an event like the one being held in Newtown. Doctors search the registry to find donors for patients who need a transplant.

If a doctor selects a local registry member as a suitable match, they will be asked to donate either bone marrow or blood cells.

Although there are minimal lab processing fees involved in this process, organizers of the registry drive for Mr Bienkowski will be looking for outside donations to help defer those costs. While donations to the NDMP will be graciously accepted, it is not a requirement to become a donor.

Anyone wishing to help underwrite the expense of the local registry drive should make a check payable to The Marrow Foundation, and mail it to Karen Grosso, 6 Harvest Common Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06482 — be sure to write “Ron Bienkowski donor drive” in the memo area of the check.

To help make a difference for Mr Bienkowski and thousands of others, volunteers simply need to respond Monday, March 30.

Anyone with questions about the drive should call Ms Grosso at 426-6558, or Ivy Pearson at 426-1002. Get more information about the National Marrow Donor Program, by calling 888-298-6571, extension 101, or visiting www.marrow.org.