Help Dany Day: November 27, 2007
www.helpdanny.com
Find out why the City of Kitchener has come to the aid of one.
WHO: This is important issue for everyone because anyone could need bone marrow at anytime and we need people to sign on the registry. 24-year-old Dany Mercado is an athletic football player and college student. However, most days you will not find him in the classroom or on the playing field but in a hospital room fighting for his life. Dany has leukemia and has been fighting this disease for over five
years.
Diagnosed in 2002, Dany was treated with chemotherapy which helped his cancer go into remission. The Mercado family was thrilled to have their outgoing, talkative son back, but the good times were not to last. In 2005 the cancer returned stronger than then before. Dany's only hope for survival is marrow or stem cell transplant.
His family has even flown to other countries and over twenty members of their family tested, but none were a match for Dany. Dany hopes every day for the phone to ring saying that the match has been found. Instead, he hears only silence.
Dany is also Hispanic/Latino. Marrow and blood cell transplants require matching certain tissue traits of the donor and patient. Since tissue types are inherited, a patient's best chance of finding a matched donor is from his or her own racial or ethnic group.
The NMDP Registry has over 6 million donors but fewer than 11 percent of those donors identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino.
WHAT: On November 21, media from Ontario area will gather at Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ont., with two goals in mind: To help spread the word about the need of minorities on the bone marrow registry and to help spread the word of the need to raise $200 000 for the transplant.
The President of the College, Student Council President, Fire Chief, President of Better World Today Association and the JR Fitzpatrick (winner of CASCAR) will be at the conference.
Better World Today Association has teamed up with the Conestoga College Student Inc. We will be discussing November 27 Help Dany day that is planned for the City of Kitchener by the key players in the City Fireman will have a truck pull at the College with teams from the Police, EMS, College, High School and various other groups on November 27th. This is open to the Public. The roof has been set up so they can film that day. The road has been closed down and the snowplows are on stand by. This will be a day that will be remembered for many
years to come. Come and see how and why 200 000 people are coming to the aid of one. The fire Kitchen unit will be on display. There will be a Pasta Dinner at 6:00pm on November 27. Many stores in Kitchener will have collection boxes for Dany.
The generosity of the City is overwhelming and is a great thing to witness. Dany is in the Hospital right now and his blood counts are low.
Better World Today is from Windsor, Ontario and have been working with the Mercado family, to make awareness for the need for bone marrow and have been doing bone marrow drives. They have been making awareness through out Ontario and US and the Detroit area. There has been over 1600 people signed up on the registry through Dany's campaign. I was a bone marrow donor to a young teen Tom Garrett from Peterbourgh and have been promoting ever since.
Be there to find out the next steps Dany has to take.
WHY:Dany needs a bone marrow transplant and he doesn't have time on his side. They are forced to use mismatch and the chance of survival is slim. It is a better chance then if he didn't have the transplant. They don't do mismatch transplant in Ontario and he has to go to Detroit. The cost is over 200 000 dollars. Every day, 6,000 men women and children are searching the NMDP Registry to find a life-saving match. The sad fact is that 2 out of every 10 patients may not get the transplant they need.
WHEN/WHERE:
News Conference:Wednesday 21, 2007 at 11 a.m.
Help Dany Day: Tuesday November 27,Conestoga College, Kitchener, Ont
CONTACT:
Ron Giles
Phone: (519) 513-1050 (Kitchener number)
Phone: (519) 991-4919 (Windsor number)
E-mail:givemarrow@hotmail.com |
