Excellence in Journalism Award. Miller wrote and Freidah photographed a series of articles describing the odyssey of Maria Ocampo Cruz, from her diagnosis in early 1995 through her search for an unrelated stem cell donor, the actual transplant, recovery period and eventually meeting her donor. Each of these stories highlighted the need for Hispanic donors.
Marrow transplants require matching certain tissue traits of the donor and patient.
Because these traits are inherited, a Hispanic patient, like Maria would most likely need a Hispanic donor. Although it is possible for a Hispanic volunteer marrow donor to match a patient from any racial or ethnic group, the most likely match is a Hispanic. Marie Ocampo Cruz, accepted the award on behalf of Miller and Fridah, at the annual Council Meeting, held in Minneapolis, during a special awards ceremony on Saturday, September 23. Founded in 1986, the NMDP provides unrelated marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with life-threatening diseases by recruiting donors, maintaining a Registry of more than 4 million potential volunteer donors, offering patient services and conducting research to further the field of unrelated marrow and blood stem cell transplants. Nearly 2000 patients receive transplants throughout the NMDP each year.