It may take hundreds of thousands of conversations and thousands of miles of travel, but that’s not stopping three determined young women from trying to save lives. Sharing America’s Marrow is a cross-country tour devoted to obtaining 50,000 volunteers to donate bone marrow.
Ole Miss was one of the first stops on the tour in February. Sam Kimura, co-founder of the organization, was impressed by the students who participated.
“With the university being closed one of the days we visited, we probably did not reach as many students and faculty members as we could have, but the turnout on our second day was impressive,” Kimura said.
The idea of Sharing America’s Marrow was inspired by Kimura herself, her sister and her best friend from Louisville, Kentucky. In 2010, Kimura needed bone marrow after being diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia. Unable to find a matching donor, she had to resort to an alternative treatment to manage her disease. Kimura is currently in remission but says she “could potentially relapse and need a transplant in the future.”
In the meantime, Kimura hopes to help those currently in need of a transplant.
“It’s all about crushing the myths surrounding bone marrow donation and raising awareness for the need for more donors on the registry,” she said.
Kimura’s message hit home for University of Mississippi student Chelsey Helman; her grandfather needed a transplant a few years ago, and the waiting was painful for her family.
“It took a while for him to get a donor because there were very few donors of the same match, and many people needing donations,” Helman said.
At the Ole Miss drive Feb. 2-3, student Logan Jelinske was touched by Kimura’s story.
“That’s why I signed up, because I could have helped save the girl I was talking to, and that was an amazing thing in my eyes,” Jelinske said.
Kimura realizes she’s going to have to do a lot of talking throughout the tour.
“It’s going to be tough because it’s literally going to take hundreds of thousands of conversations because most people say no when we ask them to join the registry.”
At Ole Miss 112 students said yes, which means Kimura and her partners have just 49,888 to go.
Anyone interested in donating marrow should visit SharingAmericasMarrow.com.
