Bone Marrow Drive by St.LOuis APPNA CHAPTER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) March 12, 2011 -- Leukemia patients of South Asian descent, like those from many other minority ethnic groups, have been in dire need of support from potential donors of bone marrow transplants for quite some time. Most matches occur within ethnicity, but of the nearly 8 million people currently participating in the National Bone Marrow Registry, only 1.8% are of South Asian descent. A South Asian has a roughly 1 in 20,000 chance of finding a match, so IT IS IMPORTANT TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF SOUTH ASIANS REGISTERED AS POTENTIAL BONE MARROW DONORS.

This was the request of Bilal, a bright high school student from Naperville, Illinois who recently passed away from Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and the request of 3 year-old Rayan, who is urgently in need of a bone marrow transplant for treatment of his Acute Leukemia. Their brave response to these life threatening diseases has spurred the urgency of reaching out and registering people of South Asian heritage into the National Bone Marrow Registry.
The Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA) - Greater St. Louis Chapter, along with the St. Louis Chapter of IMANA ( Islamic Medical Association of North America), will be conducting a BONE MARROW REGISTRY DRIVE ON SUNDAY MARCH 13TH FROM 10 AM TO 3 PM AT THE IQRA LIBRARY LOCATED AT 517 WEIDMAN RD., BALLWIN, MO 63011.

Registration as a potential Bone Marrow donor consists of providing a Painless Swab Sample from inside of the cheek. You should be between the ages of 18 – 55 years and in good general health.

This is an appeal to come forward and join in possibly saving a child’s life.
For more information, please contact
M. Haseeb, MD (618) 406-1131
Noor Ahmed, MD (618) 973-5001
Naseem Shekhani, MD (314) 255-7409
Nadeem Ahmed, MD (314) 276-0076
Mujtaba Qazi (314) 323 3871

Sent by Naseem Shekhani, MD, Secretary Association of Physicians of Pakistan Descent of North America.

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