Kenny Conidaris, a 17-year-old Estero High School student, enjoys fishing, soccer, hanging out at the beach and playing with his four dogs.
At age 12, he was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a disease where the bone marrow stops making enough red and white blood cells and platelets for the body. Patients with aplastic anemia are at risk for life-threatening infections or bleeding. Recently Kenny was also diagnosed with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, or PNH, a disease that can stem from aplastic anemia and occurs when abnormal blood-forming stem cells produce red blood cells with a defective protective layer.
Kenny’s father, Ken, explains that Kenny’s current treatment is like putting tape on a hose that leaks—the tape could hold forever or the hose could explode. “One bone marrow transplant could save Kenny’s life,” he says.
Kenny is one of the more than 10,000 people each year with a life-threatening disease who could benefit from a marrow transplant. These tissue types are inherited, but 70 percent of patients do not have a matched donor in their family. Kenny is among that 70 percent and is relying on the National Marrow Donor Program to find a match.
“Many people want to be registered to donate blood marrow, but don’t know how,” says Nancy Hendrick, Community Relations Coordinator for the Lee Memorial Blood Center. “That’s why we’re holding a bone marrow search and blood drive. We want to help increase community awareness of the need for blood and marrow donors, and it would be awesome if we could find a match.”
Anyone age 18 to 60 who is willing to donate to any patient in need and meets the health guidelines can join the Bone Marrow Donor Program registry. Hendrick explains that the process is much simpler than in the past and the majority of donations are done without surgery. “Cells from a person’s mouth are collected with a cotton swab and analyzed to determine if that person is a match with any patient in the registry. Donors never pay for donating and are never paid to donate,” she says.
See if you are a match for free at the Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Search Saturday, July 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lani Kai on Fort Myers Beach. There will be food, prizes and fun! For more information, call the Lee Memorial Blood Center at 239-334-5333.
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