Doon, Iowa — A Bone Marrow Registry Drive, bake sale, and free will lunch were held on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Doon Public Library and Community Center. The event was organized in the hopes of finding a bone marrow match for 36-year-old Dave Mulder, who’s Acute Myeloid Leukemia relapsed on May 8, 2017.
Mulder was first diagnosed on May 25th, 2016 and started chemo treatments right away at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls. Each round takes 7 – 10 days, but we were told that Mulder had to stay in the hospital for approximately a month each time because his immune system is greatly weakened during his treatments.
In January he was told that he showed no symptoms, but he relapsed on May 8th, just a little more than a month ago. When Mulder’s system went septic during his third round of chemo last fall it was determined that he would probably not survive a fourth round and that a bone marrow transplant would be needed. His family members were tested but unfortunately, neither of his sisters were a match. To try and help spread the word and find a possible donor, a Marrow Registry Drive was organized, with the bake sale and free will lunch to help offset some treatment costs. Mulder is undergoing chemo treatments again but his best hope is a bone marrow transplant.
According to Be The Match, becoming a donor is a very simple process. You must be between the ages of 18 – 44, be willing to commit to donating to any patient in need, and meet the health guidelines, which can be found at Join.BeTheMatch.org. They say that of the 14,000 patients who need a marrow transplant each year 70% of patients do NOT have a fully matched donor in their family, making it necessary to find a match outside the family.
Mulder’s sister Sheila Weaver told us that the event on Saturday was well-attended. She says 91 people completed the Marrow Registry packets at the event and another 80 signed up online. She tells us that if you were unable to make it to the event Saturday, you can still sign up to see if you are a match for Mulder or another person online at https://join.bethematch.org/DaveStrong. If you have further questions you can contact Mulder’s sister Amy Brands at 712-541-7114.
