Bone Marrow Registration Drive for 7-Year-Old Jamiere Colvin

December 11, 2010

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LONG BRANCH, NJ � When he was two years old, Jamiere Covin was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare and serious blood disorder. Today, 7-year-old Jamiere, who lives in Long Branch, is in desperate need of a bone marrow stem cell transplant to cure his disease but he must first find a match.

A student at Amerigo A. Anastasia School in Long Branch, Jamiere loves to dance, to play and watch football, and to spend time with his two-year-old sister, Jordyn Leigh.

The HLA Registry at Community Blood Services has been working with Jamiere�s family and friends to try to find that match by registering potential stem cell donors for Jamiere and other critically ill patients like him. A bone marrow drive held on Saturday, Dec, 4, registered 53 African Americans as potential lifesaving donors.

This Saturday, Dec. 11, a second drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Buckey James Community Center, 231 Wilbur Ray Boulevard, Long Branch, NJ in hopes of finding a match for Jamiere.

Every day, thousands of adults and children like Jamiere are diagnosed with aplastic anemia, leukemia and other life-threatening diseases that require bone marrow transplants as a cure. Seventy percent of the patients will not find matches within their own families but must turn to the national Be the Match Registry at the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to find a donor match.

African Americans only have a 66% chance of finding a match because the number of ethnic donors on the registry remains low. If more African Americans register to donate, the odds of finding a match will increase.

Registration is free, painless and easy - a simple swab is taken of the inner cheek. Anyone interested in more information about the drive can call 800-336-3363 or visit The HLA Registry on Community Blood Services� website to find out how to register and learn more about bone marrow stem cell donations.

To join the registry you must be between the ages of 18 and 60, be willing to donate to any patients in need and meet the health guidelines.

The HLA Registry (HLA stands for human leukocyte antigens, the genetic information encoded on white blood cells) in Oradell (NJ) is dedicated to finding compatible unrelated donors for lifesaving bone marrow transplants. A member of the NMDP, it is the largest non-governmental donor center in the U.S. and has registered more than 260,000 potential donors in the NMDP�s data base.