School of Medicine

News and Publications

For immediate release:
May 22, 2006
Contact: Jennifer Day
(313) 577-1058
jday@med.wayne.edu

Help WSU medical student find bone-marrow donor

Uzoma Azuh, a 22-year-old Wayne State University School of Medicine student, is looking for someone to help save his life. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, Mr. Azuh is undergoing chemotherapy to stave off the disease until a matching bone-marrow donor can be found for a transplant.

Last weekend, more than 150 people joined the National Marrow Donor Program Registry at an event in Detroit. However, to improve Mr. Azuh's chances of finding a matching donor, more people are needed to participate in upcoming drives. In addition, financial donations to defray costs associated with tissue testing in Nigeria are being accepted.

“If you look at the mathematical probability, finding a match is like winning the lottery,” Mr. Azuh said. “Every year, 22,000 people die waiting for a transplant; I don't want to be one of those people.”

Joining the registry requires a non-invasive cheek swab. Upcoming opportunities to join the registry include:

• Saturday, May 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., St. John C.M.E. Church, 8715 Woodward Ave., Detroit;
• Saturday, June 17, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Smith Chapel A.M.E. Church, 3505 Walnut, Inkster, Mich.; and
• Saturday, June 17, Noon to 6 p.m., Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit.

In addition, Mr. Azuh's family is sending kits to test for tissue matches to Nigeria. The cost of each kit is $210. To make a donation toward the cost of this effort, please visit http://www.donorcorner.com/ and click on the link for "Uzo's Donation" on the lower right-hand side of the page. Checks also may be mailed to: Uzoma Azuh Fund, c/o Issele Association of North America, Detroit Chapter, 1614 Old Salem, Plymouth MI 48170.

The characteristics that determine whether a patient and donor match are inherited, so the most likely match is with a sibling. However, 70 percent of patients will not find a suitable matching donor in their family.

These patients can turn to the volunteer marrow and blood cell adult donors and cord blood units listed on the NMDP Registry – the largest source for all types of blood and marrow cells available for unrelated transplants. Although it is possible for a patient to match a donor from any racial or ethnic group, the most likely match is someone from a similar background. Mr. Azuh is African American.

“More people from diverse backgrounds are needed on the NMDP Registry, so all patients in need can have a second chance at life,” Ms. Rozier said.

Each year, thousands of patients are diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases such as leukemia. For a chance to survive, these patients need healthy marrow and blood cells to help their bodies make new, healthy marrow.

The first step to becoming a donor is to join the NMDP Registry. Anyone age between the ages of 18 and 60 who meets the health guidelines can join. Volunteers should be committed to helping any patient in need. To join, volunteers complete a short health questionnaire and sign a form stating that they understand what it means to be listed on the NMDP Registry. Then, a small swab of cheek cells is taken to determine the tissue type to be matched against patients who need a donor. This information is added to the NMDP Registry.

The NMDP facilitates unrelated marrow and blood cell transplants as the hub for a long-standing collaborative network of national and international leading medical facilities in blood and marrow transplantation. The NMDP connects patients, doctors, donors and researchers to the resources they need to help more people live longer and healthier lives.

For more information about marrow and blood cell donation, contact the Great Lakes Region donor center in Detroit at (313) 833-2647, (313) 833-2624 or the NMDP at 1-800-MARROW-2. Online information is available at www.marrow.org/thanks .

With more than 1,000 students, the Wayne State University School of Medicine is the nation's third largest medical school. Together with its clinical partners, the Wayne State University Physician Group, the Detroit Medical Center and other area health-care providers, the school is a leader in medical research and patient care with emphases on cancer; maternal-child health; neurosciences; and population studies and urban health.

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