A Cheek Swab Could Save a Life

Black River Falls, WI: When Kristin Stutz, owner of Riverhaven Salon and Spa, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, she was absolutely shocked. She thought it was the flu because she was puking. And being tired was normal because she was running a business. The first two rounds of chemo were unsuccessful at fighting the disease. The only cure was a stem cell transplant. Her brother was not a match. She would live only three to five years with chemo.

Hal Haugstad has been a custodian for the Black River Falls School District for 20 years. Kindergartners and first graders are proud to be a part of Hal’s Helpers because they get to help Hal with his work at the school and be with a great mentor like Hal. He, like Kristin, needed a donor.

The National Marrow Donor Program (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 of 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. Adequate financial resources are essential to timely donor searches and post-transplant care. In 2009, more than 1,800 patients received assistance, and more than $5 million was made available to qualifying patients through the Be The Match Foundation Patient Assistance Program. 

On July 11, 2011, There is an opportunity to “Be the Match” at Black River Memorial Hospital. Donors must be between 18 and 60 years old. The process is a simple cheek swab, which is only used to add individuals to the registry. It is not a donation for a patient. Individuals are listed on the registry until age 61. 

There is a need for marrow donors in Black River Falls. Community members can stop in anytime on July 11 from 1:00pm to 7:00pm in the Dorothy Halvorson Conference Room at Black River Memorial Hospital. For those who are unavailable July 11th, kits will be available at the fundraiser for Hal Haugstad on July 26, 2011 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm at the Lunda Park Upper Shelter.

Kristin says, “After five years if you have a clean bill of health you are cured. I am 14 months past my transplant and look forward to having the biggest birthday party ever when I hit that 5 year mark. I am alive because of my donor. He saved my life.”