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Radford U.: Radford U.-Area Child Searches for Donor
By Noelle Selb
The Tartan Via U-WIRE
10 May 2005
RADFORD, Va. -- On the outside, Henry Moore is a typical 5-year-old. He
spends his days playing on recreation sports teams, attends preschool and Sunday school and visits with family and friends. However, inside, Henry lacks the necessary amount of neutrophils, the white blood cells that fight infections, needed to fight off bacteria.
Called Kostmann's Disease, this bone marrow disorder has been with Henry since birth. RU students have the unique opportunity to help save his life or the lives of others in need of a bone marrow transplant this Wednesday at the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Senior nursing student and President of the Student Nurses Association, Karen Burggraf, said that only a simple blood test is needed to see if a student is a bone marrow match. Once a student decides to give a vial of blood, six markers will be tested and recorded on the National Marrow Registry; if they do not match Henry or a local person in need of a marrow transplant, other patients in the nation might be a match.
Paula Downs, director of the American Red Cross, says that a five out of six marker cord blood match has been made for Henry in the past. However, there is only a 70 to 80 percent chance that match would have been successful. A six out of six match would increase the chance of success to 90 percent or greater.
Usually, it costs $65 to give the blood necessary to be tested for a possible bone marrow match. However, Hendrick Motorsports, which sponsors well-known NASCAR drivers such as Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson, have claimed the Bone Marrow Foundation as their philanthropy and have helped reduce the cost of testing to $25 per person. Carilion also offers a certain number of free tests due to the aid of several local donors.
Downs said many people are exposed daily to bacteria such as e-coli and might have an upset stomach as a severe reaction. A patient with Kostmann's, though, would require hospitalization and IV antibiotics if exposed to a small dose of bacteria.
Though immunocompromised, she still describes Henry as an inquisitive, brave boy who has a lot of love and is much wise beyond his years due to numerous doctor and hospital visits.
Since his birth in January 2000, Henry's parents, Angela and Patrick Moore, have been trying to find a bone marrow match. In 2000 alone, 1,445 people were tested in one day, resulting in numerous matches for others needing bone marrow transplants. No match has yet been found for Henry.
Moore, an adjunct faculty member in the Criminal Justice Department at RU, and his wife are "adamant about getting all the resources possible in order to determine future protocols and therapies, while at the same time working their jobs and living a family life like most of us live," Downs said.
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