November 19, 2012

 

Contacts:

Office for Community Involvement, 896-5815
Dan Carter, University Relations, 657-2269

 

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Some Montana State University Billings students and staff are helping raise awareness of bone marrow donations with a bone marrow drive and special presentation by a local family whose life was changed by a single match made a world away.

 

""

The events next week center on Jada Bascom, who was born with acute myeloid leukemia in 2007 and nearly died. She had to undergo rounds of chemotherapy and many blood transfusions just to keep alive. The key to saving her life was a bone marrow transplant and nobody in the U.S. was a match, but there was a man in Germany who provided the match that saved young Jada’s life.

 

As a gesture of gratitude, Jeana Moore (the young girl’s grandmother who lives in Washington state) walked across the country to raise awareness and bone marrow registrations. Her effort and the inspiring story of a single donation that saved her granddaughter will be the subject of a special presentation at MSU Billings.

 

Jeana Moore and the donor from Germany, Torsten Huber, will tell their stories on Monday, Nov. 26 at Petro Theatre at 7 p.m. They will be joined by Jada and her family (who all live in Billings) to talk about the importance of registering to be a bone marrow donor.

 

The presentation is free and open to the public.

 

Then on Tuesday, Nov. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., staff and students will be on hand at the Student Union Building atrium to help anyone who is interested to become registered to be a bone marrow donor.

 

For more information, contact the MSU Billings Office for Community Involvement at 896-5815.