Meet Eliana Rose Istre– the daughter of Melissa and USMC Gunnery Sgt Istre. Eliana was diagnosed with a rare form of Severe Congenital Neutropenia called Kostmann’s Syndrome, which directly hinders the production of neutrophils in bone marrow. Neutrophils are the tiny white blood cells that form an essential part of the immune system to fight infection and disease. Without these cells, Eliana fights on a daily basis to stay alive. Any illness she comes in contact with, quickly escalates into an emergency room visit. The only cure is to find a proper match through bone marrow donation. Despite this struggle, little Eliana fights the discomforts of this syndrome with a smile on her face.
[ivan_button link=”https://bethematch.org/giveA” target=”yes” align=”to-center” animation_iteration=”1″ c_id=”.vc_1466000603523″ btn_css=”color:#efefef;font-size:18px;color-hover:#ce121d;background-color:#ce121d ;background-color-hover:#efefef;border-top-left-radius:4px;border-top-right-radius:4px;border-bottom-left-radius:4px;border-bottom-right-radius:4px;border-top-width:4px;border-bolearttom-width:4px;border-left-width:4px;border-right-width:4px;border-bottom-width: 4px;border-color:#efefef;border-style:double;border-color-hover:#ce121d;”]Donate to Eliana Rose[/ivan_button]
How To Donate Blood Marrow: Be The Match
Fortunately, there is hope thanks to Be The Match, an organization dedicated to finding donors for people with life-threatening blood diseases. Recently, on Saturday, July 16, employees with Advanced Bio Treatment, alongside a veteran formed motorcycle club, the Infidels, hosted a ‘Be The Match’ bone marrow donor registration drive in Niceville, FL. In a single afternoon, the team successfully registered 50 new people. Each of those 50 people have a chance at being the person that saves little Eliana’s life, as well as the other 14,000 people looking for a donor.
Are you interested in being a donor? Signing up for Be The Match is a simple, 15-minute process and doesn’t require you to attend an event– it can all be done online! As long as you are between the age of 18 & 44, you can be the cure to someone in need of a bone marrow donation. The first step of donating bone marrow is to join the Be The Match Registry. Once you receive the full application, use the materials included in the kit to swab the insides of your cheeks (in the same manner as you brush your teeth), and then you simply send it back to Be The Match. Keep in mind, not everyone in the registry will be asked to donate; in fact, only 1 in 430 people are asked to donate. If asked to donate, the typical donation process can take from 20-30 hours of your time, spread out over a 4-6 week period. Being a bone marrow donor is an important commitment; help children like Eliana find their life saver.
For more information on this, please visit Be The Match. Also, make sure to follow the Team Eliana Rose Facebook page to find more information on how you can support her on her journey to well-being. Employees from ABT will be hosting another bone marrow donation drive in August (TBD) in attempts to find more donors.
[ivan_button link=”https://bethematch.org/giveA” target=”yes” align=”to-center” animation_iteration=”1″ c_id=”.vc_1466000603523″ btn_css=”color:#efefef;font-size:18px;color-hover:#ce121d;background-color:#ce121d ;background-color-hover:#efefef;border-top-left-radius:4px;border-top-right-radius:4px;border-bottom-left-radius:4px;border-bottom-right-radius:4px;border-top-width:4px;border-bolearttom-width:4px;border-left-width:4px;border-right-width:4px;border-bottom-width: 4px;border-color:#efefef;border-style:double;border-color-hover:#ce121d;”]Donate to Eliana Rose[/ivan_button]
