2008 Woodie Awards
Saving lives, one cotton swab at a time
Michael Guglielmo, a resident of Belmont, N.H., looks to expand national bone marrow registry 1 1/2 years after son received a life-saving transplant
Grey, Melanie
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News
When Michael Guglielmo received the news his 6-week-old son, Giovanni, had a rare, life-threatening chromosomal disorder in August 2006, he was devastated.
"I was scared," said Guglielmo. "There were so many emotions, but I was also determined to save him. I shed my tears, and then I said, 'Now we've got to change this. Now we've got to fix this.'"
Giovanni was diagnosed with Nuclear Factor Kappa B Essential Modulator - known as NEMO. Doctors told his parents without a bone marrow transplant, he would die within a year. The odds of finding a match are one in 20,000.
Motivated by the fear he would lose his son, Guglielmo started a bone marrow drive with an ambitious goal: he would add 20,000 donors to the national registry.
Within three months a cord blood donor was matched with Giovanni, but Guglielmo didn't abandon his goal. In fact, he increased his goal to 100,000.
On Oct. 15, Giovanni's Team will hold its second bone marrow drive at UNH. The drive will take place from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. in MUB 334.
"I had started this movement, and I felt it would be socially irresponsible to walk away from it," Guglielmo said.
A year and a half past transplant, Giovanni is doing well.
"He's starting to be a baby. He's playing with his brothers," Guglielmo said. "He's living as a baby, instead of living as a sick child struggling to live."
Today, Guglielmo is the executive consultant of DKMS Americas, the organizer of the largest bone marrow drive in history. So far 17,961 donors have been added to the registry.
Despite the overwhelming number of potential donors, "Six-thousand people every day [are] looking for a transplant," Guglielmo said. "Only two out of 10 find one."
UNH students Sarah Leonard and Lynette Boutin, both juniors and co-creators of Giovanni's Team, joined Guglielmo's efforts in April when they held a bone marrow drive. Eighty-two donors - four times the national average - volunteered their DNA.
"I was scared," said Guglielmo. "There were so many emotions, but I was also determined to save him. I shed my tears, and then I said, 'Now we've got to change this. Now we've got to fix this.'"
Giovanni was diagnosed with Nuclear Factor Kappa B Essential Modulator - known as NEMO. Doctors told his parents without a bone marrow transplant, he would die within a year. The odds of finding a match are one in 20,000.
Motivated by the fear he would lose his son, Guglielmo started a bone marrow drive with an ambitious goal: he would add 20,000 donors to the national registry.
Within three months a cord blood donor was matched with Giovanni, but Guglielmo didn't abandon his goal. In fact, he increased his goal to 100,000.
On Oct. 15, Giovanni's Team will hold its second bone marrow drive at UNH. The drive will take place from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. in MUB 334.
"I had started this movement, and I felt it would be socially irresponsible to walk away from it," Guglielmo said.
A year and a half past transplant, Giovanni is doing well.
"He's starting to be a baby. He's playing with his brothers," Guglielmo said. "He's living as a baby, instead of living as a sick child struggling to live."
Today, Guglielmo is the executive consultant of DKMS Americas, the organizer of the largest bone marrow drive in history. So far 17,961 donors have been added to the registry.
Despite the overwhelming number of potential donors, "Six-thousand people every day [are] looking for a transplant," Guglielmo said. "Only two out of 10 find one."
UNH students Sarah Leonard and Lynette Boutin, both juniors and co-creators of Giovanni's Team, joined Guglielmo's efforts in April when they held a bone marrow drive. Eighty-two donors - four times the national average - volunteered their DNA.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Michael A. Guglielmo
posted 10/11/08 @ 8:32 PM EST
Melanie did a great job writing this piece but she reversed two very important numbers. That is, eighty percent of the draws for bone marrow--which is one's stem cells--are done via the blood stream similar to donating platelets or double reds with the American Red Cross. (Continued…)
Post a Comment