Long Island Exchange - Local Resident Needs Our Help

Local Resident Needs Our Help

While researching upcoming events “to do” on Long Island, I came across one I felt compelled to write about. I learned that local wife and mother of four Debra McCabe is fighting against a life threatening bone marrow stem cell disorder-and she needs as much help as she can get.

“My dad, brothers, sister and I are asking for your help to save our mother, Debra. She is our mother, a wife, and a woman who has so much more to live for. We, the McCabe family, would like to ask for your help in giving us the opportunity to grow old with her. Register as a bone marrow donor and possibly save her life and the lives of thousands of others who need to find their match. Reach into your hearts and understand that she is not just a woman who needs help. She is more,” said Billy, Debra’s oldest son.

On June 20 at Prince of Peace Regional School in Sayville, a bone marrow donor drive is being held in Debra’s honor. DKMS Americas, an organization that matches donors and patients and educates the public about leukemia and other blood cancers, is organizing the event. Here they hope to find a match for Debra as well as for thousands of others.

Debra McCabe and family.

DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world with nearly 2 million registered donors. Since its founding in 1991, DKMS has facilitated more than 17,000 transplants.

Debra was diagnosed with a rare blood disease-Myelopdysplastic Syndrome-which can potentially develop into leukemia. Her only chance for survival is a bone marrow transplant.

That’s where we Long Islanders come in. At the school on Saturday June 20, DKMS representatives would do a simple cheek swab, ask about your general health, and if you are found to be a match, additional testing on an outpatient basis would be arranged. So, if you are between 18 and 55 and are in good general health, please stop by to register as a donor.

You just may be able to save Debra.

Where: Bone Marrow Donor Drive
Prince of Peace Regional School
200 Main Street
Sayville, NY 11782

Donna Amato

June 13, 2009 8:25 AM Eastern

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LOCAL RESIDENT NEEDS OUR HELP