Our Voice And Yours

Our Voice And Yours

Lolvani Team
03/20/2013

Happy Holi! Happy Easter! Happy Passover! As we celebrate many a wonderful spring holidays, Anil and I had the unique opportunity to attend a Seder at a Jewish home. Passover is a time when the Jews celebrate the exodus of the slaves from Egypt. The hosts mentioned that this is symbolic. since all of us have had moments when we experienced the "escaping from Egypt" feeling.

There was a great roundtable exercise when each guest shared that moment with all. It was a most wonderful exercise as we learned of each other's fears and weaknesses and learned how many coped with those moments.

Perhaps a family Seder when parents share their "escaping from Egypt" moments with their children can be most educational!.

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An urgent Appeal

My name is Sam Sommers and I'm a professor at Tufts University. A dear friend and former colleague of mine, Nalini Ambady, born in Kerala, is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant as a result of a relapse of leukemia. Unfortunately, the situation for Nalini has deteriorated rapidly and time is of the essence (see http://www.helpnalininow.org/ for more details). In particular, the pool of South Asian donors currently in the registry is relatively small, and while it is possible that a match could be found among people of other backgrounds, the odds are by far the best for a potential match from someone else of South Asian descent.

Please consider registering to become a possible donor that could save a life. Registering takes very little time (you complete a form, receive a kit, and swab the inside of your cheek). We have only a few weeks to benefit Nalini; anything that you are able and willing to do to increase the representation of potential donors of South Asian descent in the registry (whether registering yourself or passing this message along to other appropriate organizations/listservs/communty groups) could save Nalini's life or the life of one of the many, many other patients out there just waiting for a donor match. Thank you for your time.

Ways to help or be involved:

If you are in the United States:

1) I want to participate in a local bone marrow drive to register as a potential donor (will require a quick cheek swab):

Search by your zip code or contact a local recruitment center:
http://marrow.org/Join/Join_in_Person/Join_in_Person.aspx

2) I cannot find a local bone marrow drive in my area, so I'd like to organize one:
Go to: https://secure.marrow.org/Get_Involved/Grow_the_Registry/Host_a_Drive.aspx and fill out the form and a staff from the National Bone Marrow Program will contact you.

3) I cannot find a local bone marrow drive, but I want to register with the National Bone Marrow Program so that I can receive a kit for a cheek swap through the mail:

If you are in the U.S., join the registry here:

1. Go to website: www.bethematch.org<http://www.bethematch.org/>
2. Click: 'JOIN.'
3. Complete the on-line registration.
4. Scroll down to the promo code and enter: nalini (lowercase) and the kit will be sent to you and processed in expedited fashion once you return it.
5. You have to be between the ages of 18-44 years old to use the promo code and to register for free. Otherwise, donors 45-60 cannot use the promo code and will be asked to pay $100.

If you are in India, join the registry here:

1. Go to website: http://datriworld.org/
2. Click: 'Become a Donor.'
3. Complete the on-line registration.
4. Enter the Patient Name: Nalini Ambady
5. The cost is Rs 2500 for a donor kit to be sent to you.

If you are in other parts of the world, search for a place to join the registry here:
http://amitguptaneedsyou.tumblr.com/help-around-the-world

4) I cannot or I am not prepared to become a potential bone marrow donor, but I would like to help the cause with a financial donation to support bone marrow drives in my area though the National Registry (it costs the National Registry $100 to register and process the cheek swab for one donor):

http://www.bethematchfoundation.org/goto/teamnalininewengland

5) I want to follow what is happening with drives, stay in touch with developments, etc.
Go to: http://www.facebook.com/groups/helpingnalini. If you don't have a FB account, you can log in with the following:
Email: helpingnalini@gmail.com<mailto:helpingnalini@gmail.com>; Password: naliniambady

You may also access this article through our web-site http://www.lokvani.com/