Derrick and his donor angel finally met for the first time last week in Washington to launch National Donor Day, sponsored by the Minneapolis-based National Marrow Donor Program. Accompanied by his family, Derrick thanked Thompson with a hug and a kiss as tears streamed down the woman's face. I'm looking forward to watching Derrick grow up. Derrick's mom and doctors recalled the 100 days the youngster spent at Hackensack University Medical Center in 1997, before and after the procedure. Bone marrow transplants require a close genetic match, said Brochstein, director of the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the Hackensack University Medical Center.
Marrow is found in the hollow bones of the body, such as the legs, hips and arms.
It looks like blood, but is thicker and produces red and white blood cells. It gave Derrick a second chance at long-term survival. At present, he is free of leukemia and fully active. Brochstein attributed his patient's success to the efforts of the NMDP's aggressive recruitment of minority donors. Of 3 million volunteer marrow donors, only 7 percent are African-American, according to the bone marrow donor program.