Making It Happen For Marc Chibnik

Marc-ChibnikMarc is a husband and father of four wonderful children, the youngest being only 1 year old. He was diagnosed with a RARE & AGGRESSIVE form of Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma ALK+, a form of blood cancer. A transplant from an unrelated donor is ESSENTIAL for his survival. He needs the transplant immediately while he is in remission because of the aggressiveness of the disease. His cancer came back within 7 months of his last transplant using his own stem cells.

Marc has not found his ideal match yet through the national donor registry. We contacted the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation regarding holding a donor drive in Marc’s honor, and were shocked and disheartened to learn that there are a substantial amount of previously collected donor samples that are waiting to be tested but due to lack of funding haven’t been. Marc’s life-saving match could be sitting in a box, just waiting to be found!

The current cost of processing one donor sample is $54.00. It is to our discretion where we want each dollar we raise to be used. For Marc’s survival, we decided to use our funds to have as many kits processed as possible – this will give Marc the best chance to find his life-saving donor!

Please consider sponsoring one or more tests, or even part of a test - every little bit will help us find our match. By processing these tests we can clear up some of the waiting list of samples. This gives us the best opportunity to find a match for Marc, as well as others in need of transplants.

You can contribute by visiting this donor circle page.

For those interested in seeing if they are a match, a Bone Marrow Registry Drive will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2012, from 10 am to 2 pm at Washington Township High School. A simple cheek swab can save a life. Joining the Bone Marrow Registry is easy, painless, and rewarding.

Please share Marc’s donor circle page with your friends and family via email, facebook, twitter and other social media sites. And please join Marc’s Caring Bridge page to stay updated on his progress. www.caringbridge.org/visit/marcchibnik