MCNY and Preserve Our Legacy Conclude Bone Marrow Awareness Week By Encouraging New Yorkers and Ethnic Communities to “Be The Match” At A Donation Drive
WHAT: Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY) and “Preserve Our Legacy” not-for-profit organization invite students, alumni, friends and neighbors to “Be the Match” at a bone marrow and umbilical cord blood drive, in support of Bone Marrow and Umbilical Cord Blood Awareness and Donation Week. There is currently a very limited amount of available ethnic donors on the national Be The Match Registry.
WHO: Fostering a true spirit of experiential learning, MCNY is delighted to partner for a second year with alum Shana Melius and her not-for-profit organization “Preserve Our Legacy” for this bone marrow and umbilical cord blood drive. At the core of MCNY’s Purpose-Centered Education is its Constructive Action (CA), in which students work with professors and work supervisors to apply their academic learning to the real world. MCNY truly embraces experiential learning by encouraging the continuous interaction of classroom and direct first-hand practice.
“Preserve Our Legacy” was founded by MCNY alum Shana Melius as a means to educate the minority community about diseases most commonly affecting people of color. Melius used her CA to make the world a better place and MCNY is excited to continue to support her mission to create awareness of this worthy cause. “Preserve Our Legacy” was instrumental in obtaining historical legislation called Jaden’s Law which was recently established in New Jersey. On August 25, 2010, Governor Christie signed it into law. In December 2010, the organization also launched their historical P.O.L Umbilical Cord Blood program at Harlem Hospital.
WHY: Melius’ CA project highlighted a common misconception–bone marrow donors are easily found within a patient’s family. When faced with the dilemma of needing a bone marrow, peripheral blood or cord blood transplant, individuals from various ethnic backgrounds are at a life or death disadvantage due to the genetic diversity of many in African-American and Latino communities. “Preserve Our Legacy” started with founder Shana Melius’ mission to find a match for Jaden Hilton, a young African American boy battling leukemia. In January 2007, never having found a bone marrow match, Jaden lost his battle.
Minority participation in the National Bone Marrow Registry is extremely low, with African Americans among the lowest at 8%, Hispanics at 9% and Asians at 7% of all registrants.
WHEN: MCNY Bone Marrow Drive
Saturday, November 19 – 12:00 Noon – 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: Metropolitan College of New York
431 Canal St., 11th Floor Conference Center
New York, NY 10013
Visit www.preserveourlegacy.org for more information about additional donor drives.
For more information on MCNY, visit www.mcny.edu or call 800.33.THINK.
About Preserve Our Legacy, Inc.
Preserve Our Legacy, Inc. a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit, whose mission is to educate individuals, especially those from various ethnic groups, about the benefits of stem cells through treatment options provided via PBSC, bone marrow and umbilical cord blood donation. The organization also spearheaded Jaden’s Law to increase awareness about PBSC and bone marrow donation within various ethnic communities. Preserve Our Legacy launched the first educational program, P.O.L. Umbilical Cord Blood Program at Harlem Hospital in December 2010. Since Jaden’s death, Preserve Our Legacy has been advocating to increase awareness about the need of various ethnic donors, in addition to, having those that register to step up when called to help a patient.
