Team Holloman supports DoD Marrow Donor Program

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sondra Escutia
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  If you were given the chance to potentially save a life, would you take it?

This is the question that hundreds of Team Holloman members asked themselves during a base-wide bone marrow donor drive May 3 through 7. More than 1,000 of those patrons answered "yes."

In an effort headed by the 49th Comptroller Squadron, about 50 volunteers from across the base set out to solicit as many supporters as possible to register with the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program.

Volunteers took the donation kits through each squadron, door to door, and registered people with nothing more than a consent form and four oral cotton swabs. They also set up shop at the Domenici Fitness and Sports Center and Base Exchange; notified the Officers Spouses' Club; and invited anyone and everyone else to register at the 49th CPTS office via a base-wide email.

"It's about getting folks who are willing to donate marrow to someone who might need it due to cancer, and it's just one of the last resort options for some cancer patients," said Maj. Laurie Lanpher, 49th CPTS commander. "The chances of being matched are actually very low, about 1 in 25,000 ... so when you think of it from the perspective of those who need it, it's overwhelming odds for them to overcome."

The goal of the DoD program, according to the official Web site, is "the development and application of this life-saving technology toward the military medical application for rescue of causalities with marrow damage resulting from radiation or certain chemical warfare agents containing mustard."

The C.W. Bill Young/DoD Marrow Donor Center in Washington, D.C., is one of 79 donor centers in the U.S. working with the National Marrow Donor Program.

The idea for the bone marrow drive at Holloman came about when the 49th CPTS commander, who is passionate about adding to the marrow registry, realized that not many people knew the program existed. She called a recruiter in Washington, D.C., and weeks later, put on one of the biggest drives Holloman has seen in years.

Major Lanpher's passion for finding donors stems from a phone call she received a few months ago, 10 years after registering.

"I actually got that initial call that I had been a preliminary match ... so I went in and gave about six little vials of blood because they run a myriad of tests against that blood," she said, adding that even after the initial call, she was told she only had a 30 percent chance of being a viable match.

Due to those odds, she said she was not expecting to be a viable match for the recipient who was diagnosed with pre-leukemia, but as it turned out, she was.

"I was so excited," Major Lanpher said with a hearty smile. "I want bragging rights to helping save a life ... it's just not something you get to do every day."

The 49th CPTS commander is currently on standby, waiting for her chance to help a man whom she's never met by donating bone marrow.

The bone marrow drive also hit close to home for another Holloman commander who was diagnosed with a type of bone marrow cancer in 2006. A few weeks before the marrow drive was to start, Col. Michael Stapleton, the 49th Operations Group commander, sent an email to his Airmen letting them know that after four years of remission, the cancer was detected in his latest test.

While working as a volunteer for one of the drives, one 49th OG Airman mentioned the reason he chose to volunteer was to support his commander in any way he could, and this support does not go unnoticed.

"I am both impressed and overwhelmed by their generosity and their selflessness," said Colonel Stapleton. "It means more to me than they could ever imagine."

The colonel said he is currently a candidate for a bone marrow transplant, but is going to try other medical options first. He also said it is the support like this, from his Team Holloman family, that keeps him strong.

"It is overwhelming to be a recipient of such generosity but I will tell you, it's one of the great things about wearing this uniform and getting to be in the Air Force," the fighter pilot said. "You come into contact with those kinds of people every single day, and it's not like that anywhere else."

Each of the 1,000 U.S. and German Airmen, civilians, spouses and retirees who registered during the drive did so for their own individual reasons: a past experience, a loved one in need or just the simple desire to help. Whatever the reason, every single name added to the list increases the chances of a bone marrow candidate finding a match.

"The bottom line is the more people we can get registered, the better the chances are for the recipients," said Major Lanpher.

In response to the hundreds of Team Holloman members who added themselves to the registry, Colonel Stapleton had one thing to say.

"Thank you," said the colonel. "When people come out with that kind of support, you can beat anything, so thanks is all I can say."

For more information about being a bone marrow donor, the donor process or how to register, visit the DoD Marrow Program Web site at www.dodmarrow.org or the National Marrow Donor Program at www.marrow.org.