Donor drive draws hundreds

With each day that passes, the family of 13-year-old Dianna Perez of West Chicago struggles to keep faith that a matching bone marrow donor will be found.

Perez is battling leukemia, and undergoing her last round of chemotherapy.

She will soon be ready for a bone marrow transplant if a match is found among the roughly 200 people who registered to become donors Thursday in Waukegan.

It's with that hope Dianna's aunt and uncle, Georgina and Ruperto Mayen of Crystal Lake, joined the National Marrow Donor Program registry Thursday.

Georgina Mayen said more people from the Latino community would register if they had more information about bone marrow donation and about how race matters.

Finding a tissue match is greater within one's own racial or ethnic group, but there's a shortage of minority donors on the national registry.

Willis Singleton, 48, a pastor from Gurnee, said that's not surprising after just becoming a donor himself.

"Sometimes, it's a lack of information out there," Singleton said. "Sometimes, it's just distrust. I figure it's a good cause to help somebody. Whenever you have to wait for any kind of medical situation, it's disheartening."

Of the national registry's 6 million U.S. donors, Hispanics make up 580,000, and blacks are second at 480,000, Asians. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are at 425,000, and American Indians make up 75,000, as of September 2006.

Helping minorities beat the odds was a goal of Thursday's drive.

Another was finding matching donors for nearly a dozen suburban families from Aurora to Buffalo Grove. The families represent multiple races, including black, Hispanic, Asian, white and mixed races.

"We can pass out pamphlets until eternity, but when you bring a human face to it … there is a crisis on the national registry for (minorities)," said Julie Santos, bone marrow representative for LifeSource blood bank and the National Marrow Donor Program.

A majority of those who registered Thursday at Waukegan city hall were Hispanic.

People walked off the street, government employees stopped in on their breaks, and many drove in from far-away suburbs to join the effort.

No one was turned away from becoming a donor, but a few people didn't qualify because they were either too old or had health problems that would make donation risky.

Lake County officials sent an e-mail blast to their staffs encouraging registration. Waukegan leaders allowed city employees to get registered while on the clock.

It takes 2 to 4 months to get the names of those who registered onto the national database. Organizers are trying to expedite the process because of Dianna's condition, Santos said.

Once placed on the registry, a donor is committed until age 61 but may request to be removed at any time.

Maria Vara, 26, of Waukegan happened to be at city hall paying her bills when volunteers recruited her.

With her 18-month-old daughter, Leslie, in her arms, Vara didn't hesitate to join.

"I'm thinking of her (Leslie)," Vara said through a Spanish-language interpreter. "What if she were in the same situation? I think everybody needs another chance once in a lifetime."