Bone Marrow donors save lives

By Millie Diaz

Staff Writer

Christy Hernandez Covacevich wants minorities to take a stand, sit down and donate more than just blood. In her journey with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a cancer that develops when a bone marrow cell has errors in its DNA, she discovered finding a match for a transplant is more difficult as a minority.

“Minorites donating bone marrow would improve the possibility of saving more lives. I’m thinking the lack of donation happens because the process can be scary if you don’t know what to expect,” Christy said.

In Christy’s situation, it took doctors three months to find a match, and she decided to postpone the process until 2018 because of the holidays.

According to cheekswab,org, an organization in New York City who spreads awareness for the need of bone marrow donors within ethic minority groups, there is a 97 percent likelihood that a caucasian patient will find a suitable donor. Depending on ethnicity, a possibility is as low as 76 percent. 

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