"Nassau County - Long Island, New York"

Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano today called on County residents to help save lives by registering with DKMS as a bone marrow donor on Sunday, January 22nd at the Vamps Club, located at 1550 Newbridge Road in North Bellmore, from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. as well as on Saturday, January 28th at Wantagh High School, located at 3297 Beltagh Avenue in Wantagh, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

“I encourage all residents to consider becoming a bone marrow donor,” said County Executive Mangano. “Together, we can save the lives of our family, friends and neighbors.”

County resident, Carole passionately and tirelessly dedicated her life to help those in need. As a social worker, she has spent hours advocating for the severely mentally ill population, counseled those affected by 9/11, jumped on a plane to lend aid to those affected by Hurricane Katrina and, most recently, counseled those afflicted by cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering on Long Island.

Now Carole is asking for your help. In December, Carole was diagnosed with AML, an extremely aggressive form of Leukemia. Her doctors say she needs a bone marrow transplant, but no matching donor has yet been found. Continue Carole’s mission of service; sign up as a bone marrow donor and you may be a match for Carole or another patient in need.

Additionally, Kaitlyn, a kind, happy, caring 8 year old little girl has been battling Leukemia for over 5 years. Kaitlyn now needs a second bone marrow transplant to beat her Leukemia for the 3rd time. Since her second relapse she has not be able to go to school or do the things she loves, like spending time with friends, playing soccer, and dancing. She loves to be with her younger sister Lauren but has to be in the hospital away from her for long periods of time.

Throughout the past 5 years, Kaitlyn has bravely battled cancer and done so while keeping a positive and a loving attitude. She has been an inspiration to our family. Please help to show Kaitlyn that her strength inspires us all to give the gift of hope.

Every day thousands of patients search for a bone marrow donor match. Only 4 out of 10 patients are lucky enough to receive a transplant. “I lost my mother to leukemia when I was 14,” stated Katharina Harf, COO, DKMS Americas, “and I have made it my mission to recruit more donors so that other families don’t have to go through the pain we did. We need your help so we can save more lives.”

Registering to become a bone marrow donor is more than a cheek swab; it is a commitment to help save a life. You must be between 18 and 55 and in good general health. When you register with DKMS, you can be found as a donor match for any patient in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Registering one potential bone marrow donor costs DKMS $65. DKMS does not require new donors to pay the registration fee and does not receive government funding; therefore, DKMS must rely on donations from the general public to fund donor registrations. 100% of your financial contribution is used to register new potential donors. Every dollar counts!

The DKMS mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. More than 27,000 DKMS donors have helped save lives by donating their bone marrow. DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world with over 2.9 million registered donors. DKMS Americas is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. For more information about DKMS and to learn more about registering as a bone marrow donor, please visit www.getswabbed.org.

Mangano Encourages Residents To Help Save Lives By Registering With DKMS