Tolland Resident Needs Bone Marrow Match

Tolland resident Larry Smith has turned to his community, looking for help and hope.

Smith, 33, was recently diagnosed with leukemia (CMML) after four years of illness. He is in need of a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible, but has only found an incomplete match, due to his uncommon HLA markers. 

"They've found partial matches but a better match would be a better and easier recovery and a better chance that the bone marrow would take," Smith said. His family members were not found to be suitable matches, either.

Smith's family is hoping that the drive, which will run Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at , will help Smith find a better match.

"I'm hoping by doing this there will be a miracle," said his sister and Tolland resident Jennifer Moran.

Be the Match Registry recruitment supervisor Nicole Pineault said that marrow transplant patients can be difficult to match, with only four out of ten patients receiving the essential transplants due to a variety of reasons, including a lack of diversity in the registry.

"Marrow matches are more complex than donating blood," Pineault said. "HLA markers are more common within the same racial group as you," she explained, adding that those with more unusual markers may have more difficulty finding a match.

And while Saturday's drive may not result in a complete match for Smith, he said that the event is still crucial for adding to the marrow registry.

"It's important to me and my family, and if it doesn't help me it may just help somebody else," he said.

According to Pineault, those wishing to register must be between 18 and 60 years old. A simple cheek swab is needed to initially register. If someone is found to be a match, they are asked to take a blood test, she said.

If someone is the best match for a patient, they are asked to donate either through an automated blood donation or through a minor surgical procedure. Pineault explained that in the first method, a donor is given a drug to stimulate the growth of bone marrow cells, which are then collected through a machine during a four to six hour period.

In the second method, a special needle and syringe are used to remove fluid from the back of the pelvic bone while the donor is under anesthesia, she said.

For those who cannot or do not want to register but still want to help, Moran has teamed with The Bone Marrow Foundation to create a special One-to-One Fund to collect donations on Smith's behalf, which will help cover expenses.

Those wishing to contribute can visit http://www.bonemarrow.org/onetoone/121-smith.html. The donations are tax deductible, according to Moran.

Pineault said that transplant patients typically need lots of care for three months after the procedure, and may take up to a year to fully recover.

For more information on bone marrow donations, visit the Be the Match website.