Media Contact: Maria La Gamba
Email: maria@dkmsamericas.org
Phone: 212-209-6714
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RESTON, VA Bone Marrow donor Drives to Benefit Leukemia Patient
Save the Life of Jonathan Haupt and Patients Like Him
RESTON, VA – June 30, 2009 – Bone marrow drives will be held in Reston, VA on Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12 in honor of 32-year old Jonathan Haupt. Jonathan is a life-long Washington, DC area resident who was recently diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a rare and aggressive blood cancer that affects only 5 percent of leukemia patients. Jonathan is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant, but there are currently no donor matches in the existing bone marrow registries.
Each day, 6,000 patients with life-threatening diseases like Jonathan search bone marrow registries hoping to find a donor who will save their life. There are over 13 million people registered internationally. While 80% of Caucasians in need of a bone marrow transplant will find a match on the donor registry, Jonathan lies in the unlucky 20% without a match in the registry and without a sibling match. Finding an unrelated match through a volunteer donor is his only hope.
Jonathan’s friends and family launched Team Haupt (www.teamhaupt.org) to find Jonathan’s donor and are partnering with DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor center, to host drives throughout the country during the month of July. Area residents are strongly encouraged to attend one of two drives being held in Northern Virginia to help Jonathan or another patient like him.
Saturday, July 11 – Reston Town Center during the Reston Festival – 10 AM - 6 PM
11900 Market Street, Reston, VA
Sunday, July 12 – Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation – 10 AM - 4 PM
1441 Wiehle Avenue, Reston, VA
About 13,000 patients are diagnosed with AML each year. Without successful treatment, the American Cancer Society estimates that 9,000 people will die from the disease in 2009. Unfortunately, standard chemotherapy treatment has not been successful in fighting Jonathan’s AML. His doctors have determined that a bone marrow transplant is the only option to save his life. However, statistics are not in Jonathan’s favor for finding a match in such a short time. As someone of European Jewish descent, there is a greater likelihood that his donor will come from a similar ethnic background. Yet Jonathan’s match could be anyone, so volunteers from all ethnicities are urged to be tested. Despite the odds, members of Team Haupt remain incredibly optimistic.
“The outpouring of support for Jonathan has been remarkable,” said Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk of the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation (NVHC) in Reston. “We are incredibly hopeful that
community turnout for the drives will be tremendous and we will find Jonathan the donor he desperately needs.”
“Currently, only three out of ten patients will receive the transplant that could save their life,” stated Katharina Harf, EVP, DKMSAmericas. “We need your help to change this statistic, so I encourage you to sign up as a bone marrow donor. Jonathan and thousands of others just like him depend on you to give them a second chance at life.”
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 in good general health and between the ages of 18 and 55 in order to be eligible. When you register with DKMS, you will be also listed on the national Be The Match registry and can be found as a donor match for anypatient in need of a bone marrow transplant. Learn more about your commitment and check if you meet the medical eligibility requirements. Time is critical, though.
“We don’t have time to wait for a miracle – we have to enable a miracle to happen by getting as many people to register as possible,” said Cliff Haupt, Jonathan’s father and Oak Hill resident who is organizing the two drives in Reston. “We want to see Jonathan return to the normal, wonderful life he was enjoying just months ago before his diagnosis, but we need the help of the entire Washington, DC area to make that happen.”
Jonathan was raised in Herndon, VA and is a 1994 graduate of Oakton High School. An athlete and outdoors lover, he attended Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland where he played varsity lacrosse. He is a member of the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation, and currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife, Courtney.
As a non-profit organization, DKMSrelies on the generosity of individuals to help finance the $65 cost DKMSpays to tissue type each bone marrow donor who registers. Donations are voluntary. 100%of your donation will be used to register donors and add them on the national Be The Match Registry.
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ABOUT DKMS
DKMS began in Germany with the mission of one man. In 1990, Peter Harf was desperate to find a donor for his wife Mechtild, who was diagnosed with acute leukemia. The search seemed hopeless because, at the time, there were only 3,000 unrelated donors available in Germany. He worked tirelessly gathering friends, family and volunteers to organize donor drives, successfully recruiting more than 65,000 donors in one year.
DKMS or "Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei" (German Bone Marrow Donor Center in English) was officially founded in 1991 by Peter Harf and his wife's physician, Dr. Gerhard Ehninger. Their goal was simple: to build a major bone marrow donor center to help leukemia patients worldwide find their life-saving match. Today, DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world with nearly 2 million registered donors. Since its founding, DKMS has facilitated over 17,000 transplants. In 2004, DKMS opened an office in New York City to diversify its donor pool, by registering more bone marrow donors in the U.S. Since 2006, DKMS has registered nearly 100,000donors, which allowed more than 100 patients to receive a life-saving transplant.