September 2002 (Newstream) -- When Barbara DeLong of Alaska and her husband joined the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry® in 1995, she thought the likelihood of ever being contacted to donate marrow or blood stem cells was slim to none. Years passed, and then in May of 2000, DeLong was contacted by NMDP informing her that she was a preliminary marrow donor match for a female patient.

Across the U.S., eight-year-old Sarah DiNardo had been receiving treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, an NMDP Transplant Center. Diagnosed in 1998 with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), DiNardo went into remission for six months, but then the leukemia returned. AML develops when there is a defect in the DNA of immature cells in the bone marrow. The cure: a marrow transplant. That's when DiNardo's doctors turned to the NMDP.

Today, DiNardo is a happy and healthy 10 year-old, thanks to DeLong's donation. DiNardo, a fifth-grader in LaGrange, Georgia, will meet DeLong for the FIRST TIME at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 at a special kickoff ceremony for the 2002 Five Points of Life Ride at the NMDP offices in Minneapolis.

"I thought that the likelihood of matching someone's HLA tissue type was slim," said DeLong, 39. In June of 2000 it was confirmed that she was a match for DiNardo, so she flew to Seattle for more tests. "They had to act quickly because Sarah was at a turning point, so they aspirated my bone marrow on July 26 and then performed the transplant on July 27." DeLong's donation saved DiNardo's life. After the transplant Sarah blossomed and continued to get better each day. Now two years post-transplant, DiNardo is doing well in school and enjoys the active and fun life of a typical fifth grader.

Five Points of Life Ride

Twelve amateur bicyclists are riding 80 miles a day for 48 days across nine U.S. states from Minnesota to Florida to increase national awareness of the critical need to donate one or more of the five points of life, including whole blood, platelets, marrow, cord blood, and organ and tissue. The "Five Points of Life" team will be riding Sept. 1 to Oct. 19 from International Falls, Minn. to St. Petersburg, Fla. The cyclists will participate in over 50 donor drives and community awareness events scheduled along the route in Minnesota Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

In June of 2002, blood banking and public health leaders issued a united, immediate call for blood donations due to increasingly significant blood shortages. Since 1997, the bi-annual Five Points of Life Ride has resulted in a total of 18,055 whole blood donations, 2,347 platelet donations and approximately 3,200 new donors to the NMDP Registry.

Partnering with LifeSouth Community Blood Centers to make the Five Points of Life a reality are the American Association of Blood Banks, Coalition on Donation, National Marrow Donor Program and The Marrow Foundation. Ride sponsors include Johnson & Johnson, the Fenwal Division of Baxter Healthcare, Gambro BCT, the Alpha One Foundation, Saturn/UAW Partnership, Roche Diagnostics, Centra Industries and the Florida Coalition on Donation.

For rider profiles, a calendar of events, highlights or other information on the Five Points of Life partners or sponsors, visit www.aabb.org or www.lifesouth.org or call toll-free 877-5POINTS. For more information about unrelated marrow and blood stem cell transplantation as a life-saving therapy, please call 1-800-MARROW-2 or visit the NMDP online at www.marrow.org. For more information about The Marrow Foundation™, or to make a financial contribution to assist patients with their financial needs, please call 202-638-6601 or visit them online at www.themarrowfoundation.org.