Daniel Andrade, a local firefighter who recently graduated from the Contra Costa County Fire Academy is helping his community in more ways than one.
In December, Daniel and 14 other fire academy recruits signed up for the “Be The Match” bone marrow registry where volunteers are placed in a donor registry in hopes that their bone marrow can be matched up to someone who has been diagnosed with life threatening blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
According to the National Bone Marrow Program every 3 minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer and only about 1 in 540 are a match; amazingly Daniel was a match!
On Monday, Daniel underwent the process to donate his healthy bone marrow to a male adult who was diagnosed with leukemia. A donor can donate anywhere from 20-30 hours of their time throughout the donation process and Daniel has graciously taken time off from his work to go through the process. Fellow firefighters have stepped up to cover his shifts while he is off work. Daniel is both nervous and excited, knowing that his bone marrow is making the difference in someone else’s life.
Please consider taking the time to learn more about joining a donor program and maybe you will be a match for someone in need!
About the National Bone Marrow Program and Be the Match® –
For the thousands of people diagnosed every year with life-threatening blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma, a cure exists. Over the past 25 years Be The Match®, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP), has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world. We work every day to save lives through transplant.
Information and photo provided by the United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County, Local 1230
