Helping Those Who Help Save Lives

 
Who: The Los Angeles Police Department, The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Orange Police Department, Honolulu Police Department, Anaheim Police Department and the California Department of Corrections
What: The Multi-Agency Marrow Drive
When: Tuesday, August 26, 2003, 11:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Where: South Pasadena Fire Department, 817 Mound Avenue, South Pasadena

Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Orange Police Department, Honolulu Police Department and the California Department of Corrections have joined together to form the Multi-Agency Marrow Donor Foundation. Our mission is to assist police officers, family members of police officers, and the community at large who are suffering from cancer and require a bone marrow donor to survive.
The Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Orange Police Department, Honolulu Police Department and the California Department of Corrections have joined together to form the Multi-Agency Marrow Donor Foundation. Our mission is to assist police officers, family members of police officers, and the community at large who are suffering from cancer and require a bone marrow donor to survive.
Over 3,000 people are diagnosed with leukemia each year; those patients search the National Bone Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry daily, praying to find a compatible donor. For these patients, their only hope for a second chance at life is to locate a bone marrow donor.
The NMDP registration process requires 10 minutes of a person’s time. A potential donor needs to fill out a short application and receives a finger stick to obtain a drop of blood. The blood will be tested and those results are placed into a registry where they may match a cancer patient.
The multi-Agency Marrow Donor Foundation hosts bone marrow drives for police officer and family members of police officers, however; this effort benefits all cancer patients equally by increasing the NMPD Registry.
This drive will be done with the assistance of leukemia patient Lt. John Whiteley, Orange Police Department, leukemia patient Jackie D’ Amato (cousin of LAPD Sgt. Roger Mora) and leukemia survivor and spokesperson Anissa Ayala, American Red Cross and founder of the Anissa Foundation.
For additional information, please call Los Angeles Police Officer Gina Onweiler at 213-485-0703.
This press release was prepared by Public Information Officer Adriana N. Sanchez, Media Relations Section, 213-485-3586.