My family and I, Jessica Meyer, have been members at the MAC for many years, whether it be basketball, climbing, tennis or group fitness - we have dabbled in just about everything! In 2014, I was in my late 30s and an avid member of the “early bird” classes - arriving at 530am for spinning and a track workout was a part of my weekly schedule. In March of that year, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer that required a bone marrow transplant. At my age and stage of life (our children were 7 and 4 years old at the time), this was a shock as it would be for anyone receiving this news. I was told I needed to find a match to serve as my donor for the transplant. I am part Hawaiian, which meant that the odds of finding a donor outside of my siblings was less than the 30% chance it already was; minorities represent a small portion of the registry. In amazing luck, my brother Carson was a perfect match for me and served as my donor. I am now nearly eight years from my transplant and in complete remission.
It is with unbelievable gratitude to have a donor drive at the MAC to support the 70% of people that aren’t as lucky as me to have a sibling match and must hope to find a match from the donor registry that organizations such as DKMS strive to grow and provide. I hope that if you are within the ages of 18-55 you will join the marrow registry and support this amazing organization. Did I mention it only takes 6 minutes of your time to become a potential life saver?