One of my business school classmates has an aggressive, life-threatening form of leukemia. It’s called “acute
erythroleukemia,” and he needs a bone marrow transplant in the next few weeks. His friends and family are looking for a match, which can be found through a simple test—a 
saliva sample.

Bone marrow registries are searching, but my classmate’s marrow is particularly challenging to match. It would be helpful for more people to test and register—not only for my classmate but also for others in need of a transplant.

Would you be willing to help? Here’s the information I received about how to help:

1. The best and fastest way is to get tested in person. It involves an oral swab and some paperwork—no blood and no cost. Go to www.giftoflife.org for a list of drives.
2. If you live in the NY area, come to a drive on Thursday, November 19th, 2009, between
11am and 7pm at York Capital, 767 Fifth Avenue, 17th
floor, near 59th Street. It takes 5 minutes to
 fill out the paperwork, and the test takes 5 seconds. Contact: ddauber@yorkcapital.com or (212) 300-1300.
3. You can also have a kit to be mailed to you. Go to https://www.giftoflife.org/Public/Online/Donor/Guidelines.aspx and use the code SAVEALAN. There is no cost to you. You will be contacted now or in the future if you are a match for anyone needing a life-saving transplant. The registry is for everyone, but my classmate is more likely to match someone of Jewish descent since tissue types are inherited. In any case, time is of the essence.

Thank you for considering this request.

About the author

Norb Vonnegut wrote 178 articles on this blog.

Do you ever feel the financial news makes no sense? Do stories leave you with more questions than answers? I created Acrimoney to discuss Wall Street’s behavior behind the headlines. As a veteran of a wealth management business that exceeded $1 billion in assets, I offer insight into the people and the “doings” that affect your money. I’ll start the discussion. But I hope you’ll jump in and say what you think.

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