Gordon's friends and family have organized a donor drive on Wednesday, August 28 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Brockton. Elaine Liatsos, who works for the Visiting Nurse Association in Brockton, has helped to organize the donor drive. We're definately looking for people of Greek heritage to come and be tested, but we're stressing that everyone is welcome. Even if we don't find a match for Chris, we may find a match for someone else in need. Those willing to be tested to see if they are a suitable marrow match must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good health.
Volunteers draw a few tablespoons of blood, which is sent to a lab for testing.
The whole process usually takes less than 15 minutes. Vicky Connors, recruitment manager for the New England Marrow Donor Program, said the odds of finding a match outside of the patient's immediate family range from one in 100 to one in a million. People of different ethnic groups have different antigens in their blood. Because of that, we are making an effort to get as many racial and ethnic groups represented in our donor banks. Before his initial diagnosis, Gordon worked as a residential counselor for retarded adults with the Brockton Area Multi-Service Center.