Family seeks bone marrow donor for Bayshore man

MIDDLETOWN — Jason Nappi, a 30-year-old man from Union Beach, needs a marrow transplant to save his life. His family is holding a bone marrow donor drive July 16 from noon to 6 p.m. at VFW Post 2179, Veterans Lane, Port Monmouth, as part of a search for a lifesaver.

In September 2009, Nappi’s family was devastated by the news that he had stage 2 non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Though he initially responded well to chemotherapy, Nappi now needs a bone marrow transplant to survive, which he can only get if a matching unrelated donor is found.

To find a match for Nappi and other patients, his family is holding a bone marrow donor drive, and family members are encouraging everyone to take10 minutes and register as bone marrow donors.

Every day thousands of patients search the Be the Match Registry hoping for a bone marrow donor match. Only four out of 10 patients are lucky enough to receive a transplant, according to a press release from DKMS Americas, which runs a donor recruitment program and national campaigns throughout the U.S. to raise awareness and increase the diversity of the donor registry.

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 years of age and in good general health. When you register with DKMS, you will also be listed on the Be the Match Registry (operated by the NMDP) and 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. Because DKMS does not require new donors to pay the registration fee and does not receive government funding, DKMS must rely on donations from the general public to fund donor registrations. One hundred percent of financial contributions is used to register new potential donors, according to DKMS.

The DKMS mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. More than 25,000 DKMS donors have helped save lives by donating their bone marrow. DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world, with over 2.7 million registered donors. DKMS Americas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

For more information about DKMS and to learn more about registering as a bone marrow donor, visit www.getswabbed.org. Individuals unable to attend the July 16 drive can still register to be a donor by visiting the website.