A LOOK AT THE USPS MARROW DONOR PROGRAM
Huntington Beach, CA, Letter Carrier Hung Chung.
The Postal Service’s Delivering the Gift of Life campaign offers help. Since 1997, the campaign has made it possible for postal employees, their spouses or dependent family members 18 years of age and older to help.
Donors registered in the Delivering the Gift of Life campaign are added to the national “Be The Match Registry” where, on any given day, more than 6,000 people search for potential donors.
The registry, containing more than 7 million names, has made possible thousands of transplants — yet fewer than 10 percent of those have helped African American or other minority patients because suitable donors were unavailable.
The Delivering the Gift of Life program is managed by the Postal Service’s Community Relations team. Coordinator Deborah Mobley says one of the reasons USPS is involved is because of its large, diverse workforce. “There is special need to increase diversity on the registry because patients are most likely to match donors of the same race and ethnicity,” said Mobley. “Ninety–four percent of minorities in need of a marrow transplant will not get one.”
More than 50,000 postal employees and their family members, including 25,000 racial and ethnic minority donors, are enrolled in Delivering the Gift of Life.
To date, 80 Delivering the Gift of Life recruits have gone on to donate, including Huntington Beach, CA, Letter Carrier Hung Chung.
Chung enrolled in 2002. Seven years later, he got notice he was a match for a 16–year–old in need of a transplant. “I felt like I won the Super Lotto,” said Chung. He said he hopes to someday meet the girl.
Testing is required to donate marrow. A grant from the Postal Service covers the cost of type–testing employees and eligible family members.
Be The Match Foundation in 2009 honored the Postal Service with its first “Rod Carew Award for Leadership” for having saved more lives through marrow donation than any other business organization in the nation.
Employees interested in becoming a donor or who would like more information about the program can send an e–mail to marrowcampaign@usps.gov. For more information about the Be The Match registry or foundation, go to bethematch.org
from usps news link-editor-mr.robert anderson
