Benefit BBQ To Help St. Louis Firefighter And Others In Need Of Bone Marrow Donors

Online, June 1, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The firefighters and paramedics of Fenton Fire Protection District, IAFF Local 2665, and the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) will hold a bone marrow donor registration drive and benefit barbecue in honor of Captain Steve Grimes on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the UAW Local 136 Hall, 980 Horan Drive in Fenton, MO. The barbecue will feature good food, live music and is for a great cause.

Captain Grimes was diagnosed on March 26, 2010 with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The cancer went into remission following his first round of treatment. Though, he will need a bone marrow transplant to be cured. He and his family are waiting to find out if his brother is a match. If he is not a match, Grimes will turn to Be The Match Registry to find a donor.

NMDP and Be The Match Foundation are nonprofit organizations dedicated to creating an opportunity for all patients to receive the bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant they need, when they need it. Every year, more than 10,000 patients are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia or lymphoma for which a marrow or cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor may be their best or only hope for a cure. Most patients (about 70 percent) in need of a transplant do not have a matching donor in their family. They depend on the NMDP's Be The Match Registry to find an unrelated donor or cord blood unit.

"Please do not let the fear of surgeries prevent you from becoming a potential donor," said Denise Mosley, Account Executive at Be the Match Registry. "If you are a match there are now two ways of donating your marrow: Peripheral blood stem cell donation (about 75 - 80% of the time) or Surgical marrow extraction (about 20 -25% of the time). For Peripheral blood stem cell donation, blood is removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out the stem cells. The remaining blood is returned to the donor through the other arm. For Surgical marrow extraction, the donor is put under general anesthesia. Needles are used to withdraw liquid marrow from the pelvic bone area."

The UAW has donated their Local 136 Hall to serve as the site for the Benefit BBQ that will last from 11am-4pm. There will be a BBQ menu and sides available for a charge and live music by "John Doe". In addition, from 11am-3pm Be The Match will be registering new donors. All it takes is a cheek swab sample to be added to the registry!

Benefit proceeds will be used to help offset the medical costs that Grimes will incur. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from the benefit will be donated to Be the Match Registry in honor of Captain Grimes. Tax-deductible donations may also be made directly to Be the Match Registry.

"When we found out about Steve's diagnosis we were very shocked," said Doug Ruse, Shop Steward for the Fenton Fire District. "It's the nature of our profession to want to help! Since we can't take Steve's illness away, the bone marrow drive and benefit BBQ is our way of showing Steve how much his friends, family and community care for him."

For more information about Grimes or the Benefit BBQ please call Doug at 314.960.3387 or e-mail him at [email protected] or for more information about Be The Match Foundation visit BeTheMatch.org, e-mail [email protected] or call 314.348.5650.