Something Positive
Okay...I have no idea if the news story is accurate or not, but it seems like a good way to start a conversation about Bone Marrow donation.
One of the treatments for lukemia is a bone marrow transplant. The marrow has to come from a live donor. At present, there are over 5 million registered donors. When someone needs bone marrow, they search the registry for a match. Unfortunately, even with 5 million plus potential donors, matches are rare.
An additional problem is that most of the people on the registry are anglo, so minorities (or those of mixed heritage) have a pretty slim chance of finding a match.
The bottom line is that more people need to get on the registry. The more the better.
Getting on the registry involves having a little bit of blood drawn and tested. After that, all you have to do is let the registry know when you move. (If someone comes back as a match to your blood, the registry will need to get in touch.)
If you're tagged as a potential donor, you'll have additional blood drawn for further tests. If everything comes up clean and the match is good, the donor undergoes a minor surgical procedure (usually outpatient) to have the bone marrow removed from the back of their pelvis. The marrow regenerates in a few weeks and the donor isn't harmed in any permanent way. (As opposed to donating a kidney which leaves you one kidney short.)
You can get all of the details (including how/where to register) at the National Marrow Donors Registry web site at:
www marrow org
(The board won't let me post the actual address as a link until I'm more "well known". Sorry.)
So, here's my thought. If you really wanna show Keanu you care, why not organize some kind of Matrix-inspired Bone Marrow donor drive? I don't know that his sister is a candidate for a transplant. Even if she is the odds are pretty much against the drive finding a specific match for her. But a drive that added a few hundred people to the registry would be a good thing. And, if it were publicized right it would help the registry and it might make Keanu feel a little better knowing that people care about those, like his sister, who are suffering.
KC