EVENTS | BE A MATCH

PLEASE help SAVE a LIFE

The bone marrow drive at Open Door Presbyterian Church on Sunday was an amazing display of generosity by not only the ODPC congregation but the community at large. In addition to the incredible response of members of ODPC, there were a number of visitors and volunteers at the drive who had heard of Andrew's cause via social media or the Internet and decided to come out to the drive to help or join the registry.

The amazing part about this drive was how invested ODPC was in the drive's promotion and success. Often times at churches marrow drives can become something of an afterthought or minor bullet on the itinerary. But ODPC, with its over 700 weekly attendees, went above and beyond the call of duty (in a very short 3 week period) to do all that they could to run a successful drive.

Pastor Dihan and church leadership devoted service time during consecutive weeks for messages from Andrew's aunt Pam, in addition to running a thorough web and print campaign to raise awareness. On drive day over 20 church members arrived early in the morning for training and stayed late into the afternoon to register donors. For a church with such a large scale and variety of programs, I'm almost positive that schedules and events are set months in advance. And yet, despite any potential inconvenience, ODPC was extremely accommodating. Pam, her family, Juliette Williams from the NMDP, the volunteers, and the ODPC leadership all deserve recognition for their hand in the drive's success.

The final overall count for donors from Sunday came out to 254. It was by far the biggest drive I've ever been involved in, and I have no doubt in my mind that lives will be saved by someone who registered through this drive.

To anyone who joined the registry on Sunday that may be reading this post, I know that it was a difficult decision, and I know you may not know what to expect moving forward. But I promise you that if you do get called, and you do donate, no matter what temporary inconveniences you experience in the end you will never regret that decision. The opportunity to save a life is a gift and not a burden, and you'll remember it for the rest of your life.

Thank you for joining the lottery to save a life.

To keep updated with Andrew Park's health, please remember to visit his father's blog.

WHERE is the Drive?
ODPC Worship Center Fellowship Hall
2999 Centreville Road
Herndon, VA  20171
(At the corner of McLearen and Centreville Roads; the smaller building of the two on campus)

WHEN is the Drive?
Sunday, February 19 from 9:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

WHO can Help?
EVERYONE!  Priority is to get as many people registered as possible. But we also need a lot of VOLUNTEERS to help man the Bone Marrow Drive table. Volunteers will be trained on what to do the day of the event.

WHY are we doing this?
What’s jump-started this urgent plea for the ODPC community (and surrounding Korean community) is Andrew Park of Hinsdale, IL. Andrew is the nephew of Pam and Larry Lippincott. At just 17 years old (his birthday is February 4), he is a two-time cancer patient who is currently in a life-threatening battle with a rare form of cancer and will NOT survive without finding a bone marrow match. To see his full story, see his blog, which has been spreading around the country at amazing speed.

For Andrew, the odds are much better to find a match within the Korean community.  However, everyone is welcome to participate.

WHAT is a Bone Marrow Drive?

Visit www.cheekswab.org for an extensive overview of a Bone Marrow Drive.

According to cheekswab.org, joining the registry is simple and painless. All it takes is one registration form and four cheek swabs.

Being on the Bone Marrow Registry is accompanied by the commitment and responsibility that the NMDP requires all donors to agree to before joining.  The NMDP also requires that potential donors pass preliminary medical guidelines for both their safety and the safety of the patient as a medical procedure is involved if there is a match. These guidelines are determined at the federal level. 

Once the potential donor is ready to join, the registration process is very simple and painless. There is a somewhat lengthy registration form (for good reason) and a swab kit with four cheek swabs that are used to acquire cheek cells for HLA-typing. We walk you through what information you'll need to complete that form and the swabbing process.



HOW People can Help

The first priority is to get tested and join the donor registrar. We won’t know if you’re a match unless you register. There are two ways to do this:

1. Come to the ODPC Bone Marrow Drive on Sunday, February 19 from 9:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

2. If you're unable to attend, you can order a swab kit via the NMDP website.

PRAYERS
We need a lot of prayers. For Andrew to find a match, the odds are 1 in 20,000. It’s going to take a lot more registrants for us to find one. Please ask God to help us find a match!  Andrew also must be in remission in order to receive a bone marrow transplant. We will learn the week of February 16 if the intense chemo has killed off the cancerous cells.

DOWNLOAD THE BONE MARROW DRIVE VIDEO