Lambdas play matchmaker for marrow patients

After a routine physical last November, Jodie Gee, 34, was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a disease which causes bone marrow to stop producing enough blood cells and platelets for the body.

"My blood count had just started to go down at the time of my physical and (by the time of) my follow-up, it had dropped dramatically," Gee said, "I really feel that God got me to go the doctor at the right time."

Her doctor told her she needed a bone marrow transplant, and if she could find a donor, the survival rate was 80 percent.

Albert Ramirez, graduate student, met Gee as a patient at the hospital. He informed Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-American fraternity at UTD, about Gee's situation. The Lambdas took action sponsoring a drive on March 6.

Lambda Phi Epsilon organized bone marrow drives for March 12-13 in the Student Union (SU), as part of their national philanthropic event. This is the Lambdas' third year hosting bone marrow drives. Their goal this semester is to save Jodie Gee and others who are in need of a matching bone marrow donor.

"We should have everyone from our chapter helping out," said Phillip Phan, Lambda Phi Epsilon president and biology senior.

The Lambda's video committee created a promotional video about the cause.

"We really want to show that the students at UTD really do care and it's not all just fun and games. Sometimes you can joke and play, but then there are other times that you have to work hard and realize that life is a blessing," said Guy Kim Nguyen, vice president of the Lambda Phi Epsilon and arts and technology graduate student.

On the registry, there is a need for minority groups especially. According to an ABC interview with Carol Gilespie from the Asian-American Donor Program, ethnic minorities have a 35-45 percent chance of finding a donor in the current registry, while Caucasians have about an 80 to 85 percent chance of finding a match."

The Lambdas are setting up a booth in the SU with help from Carter BloodCare, Texas' largest blood center. Interested people can stop by and fill out paperwork to receive a free test kit, so that their information can be put on the National Marrow Donor Program registry.

The first step to donating involves a quick questionnaire similar to the questions for donating blood. The test kit contains four different q-tips that the registrant swabs the inside of their mouth with to get a sufficient DNA sample, said Mike Green Richardson Regional Hospital lab technician.

If a donor matches a person in need, he or she goes through a verification process and gives his or her consent to have bone marrow withdrawn by either a blood transfusion or needle from the hip while under anesthesia, Green said.

In about 80 percent of the procedures are done by blood transfusion and 20 percent from the back of the hip, said Green.

"It's tough to say whether it's going to hurt or not," Green said. "Everyone has a different pain tolerance."

Gee is still waiting for a bone marrow transfusion. She has been living with her mother to limit her exposure to germs and only leaves the house for weekly doctor visits and trips to the hospital for blood transfusions. She sees her two young children and husband once a week.

"I figured that I could handle any pain or treatment, but I wouldn't be able to take care of my kids or husband. That was the hardest part," Gee said.

Gee has found a matching donor and is waiting on final consent and scheduling for the bone marrow transfusion. The process could still fall through, but seems promising, Gee said.

Even after she receives a bone marrow transplant, the danger is not over.

"There are complications that can happen. Basically you are like a newborn baby, where your body has to rebuild all of its immunities to everything," Gee said.

People need to realize that even if it is an inconvenience at the time, they hold the possibility of saving a life when they receive the call to donate, Gee said.

The Lambdas are hoping for over a hundred students to turn out and register over the three-day drive.

"(The bone marrow drive) is one of the things that I was most excited about because we can give back to the community," Phan said. "It gives you something to look forward to, something also to feel proud about."

Visit SaveJodie.com for more information about Gee's condition and to read her blog.