Battle for Bella!

On March 11, my girlfriend Monica Battle notified me that her four-year old daughter Isabella Battle's leukemia has returned. Isabella received a marrow transplant in September 2008 after a year and a half-battle with the disease. She had been in remission until March 2010 but the cord blood that she received failed and now she is need of another transplant.

Every year, more than 30,000 children and adults are diagnosed with fatal blood diseases like leukemia. In many instances, a bone marrow transplant is their only chance for a cure-but finding a match is easier said than done. Only 30 percent of patients that need a transplant find a matched donor within their family. More often than not, they are forced to turn to the National Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) Registry of volunteer marrow donors.

Minorities such as African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics and Native Americans are overwhelmingly underrepresented in the national registry, giving them a one in a million chance of finding a match there.

Because of my work in public health and health communications, Monica called me to raise awareness about the critical need for people of color to register with the NMDP. Not only to help her find a match for her daughter Isabella but also to help other children of color who are looking for donors.

In 2008, I witnessed my sorority sister and good friend go through this gut-wrenching journey with Isabella, which means God's child, as she watched her daughter fight for her life. Since I’m not a parent, I could never understand how it feels to have absolutely NO CONTROL to help your child.

Since Isabella's first transplant, Monica has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the critical need for minorities to join the NMDP. Her message to us and from other parents who have children who or in need of a transplant are falling on deaf ears. Not enough hear their desperate pleas.

Today, I am watching my friend go through the same heart-wrenching process of looking for donor to help save her child.

I am asking if you are reading this message, please help Isabella and thousands of other children who are in need of bone marrow donor. THIS IS A MEDICAL CRISIS.

Get educated. Tell others. Get registered. Host a marrow drive in your community. It would be life changing.

All it requires is a cheek swab test and you could be on your way to saving someone’s life.

Please contact me at 703-785-4358 or xinaeiland@me.com to let me know if you are willing to help me push this initiative through your community. For more information on how to host a drive in your community please visit www.marrow.org/join.