On Tuesday night, Michelle and I enjoyed dinner with many of the marrow donor recruiters from the western region of National Marrow Donor Program (including the NMDP offices & affiliates such as AADP and A3M). Since Michelle and I aren’t able to travel outside of the bay area, it was really great to finally meet the amazing recruiters who support the Project Michelle team at all the drives across the country. We are so grateful for all the compassionate recruiters out there.

We also met an amazing and inspirational woman named Gina Cousineau. Her son Evan was diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy, a horrific genetic metabolic disease, in April 2007. He underwent a cord blood transplant but developed a virus that in combination with his severely compromised immune system was too much even for this strong boy. Evan passed away on November 2, 2007, the day before his and his twin sister’s 10th birthday. Through Evan’s journey, Evan’s family and friends started a campaign of “Saving Lives in Honor of Evan”. Gina has felt the heartache of losing her son and will fight for the rest of her life to relieve others from this. To find out more about how you can make a difference and save lives (not just through marrow registration but also by donating blood and becoming an organ donor), keep reading the daily journals on her site and check out Evan’s Website.

Some interesting things I learned on Tuesday from Gina…

Did you know that only 5% of eligible Americans donate blood? Eligible donors can donate blood every 56 days. Since your blood donation is separated into its components: red blood cells, platelets and plasma, you can help save the lives of 3 people every two months.

Did you know that you can donate platelets every two weeks? Donating platelets involves a process called apheresis, where whole blood is separated into components, and the platelets are removed, while you relax, watch TV or read. You don’t lose any blood and your platelets are replenished in about 48 hours. The entire process takes about two hours. That means that you have the opportunity to save the life of a patient every two weeks.

So why is this important or relevant? Because Michelle is often the patient that needs blood transfusions and platelets to keep her alive when her counts are low. Michelle typically gets two blood transfusions and two platelet transfusions after every round of chemo. It’s so funny that I dedicate every day to getting new people to say they will donate marrow to save Michelle’s life. I forgot that countless strangers have already saved Michelle’s life so many times. I am thankful for those people who took the time out of their busy days to make a valuable impact on a stranger’s life because that stranger is the love of my life.

I am now pledging to make saving lives through blood/platelet transfusion part of the routine of my life. There is no reason for me not to.

Michelle and our new friend Gina: