Opportunity to add to the possibilities of bone marrow transplants

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Dozens of players followed coach Bob Stoops' lead in going throughscreening to become a bone marrow donor, hoping to help a10-year-old Sooners fan and others suffering from cancer and blooddisorders.

"When you think about it, one day you could actually savesomebody's life. To me, that's something really important that youshould do," said linebacker Austin Box, who sat down at a table tocomplete his screening shortly after Stoops got done.

Each potential donor rubbed four cotton swabs in their mouth _ onein each corner _ to provide a DNA sample that will go in a nationalregistry. Patients who are in need of a bone marrow transplant willalso have their DNA entered into the database to see if it fitswith a donor.

Tallie Anderson, a 10-year-old transplant hopeful from Shawnee,attended the screening in a pink Oklahoma T-shirt and met withStoops and players who volunteered. She was diagnosed last Marchwith severe aplastic anemia, a blood disorder.

"We thought it would be like anything else: a one-year thing. Yougo in, you go out. The doctors didn't mention a bone marrowtransplant or anything _ `We'll do treatment. We're good to go,'"said Roger Anderson, Tallie's dad.

"But now we're starting to talk bone marrow transplant because someof the therapy is not working."

Tallie's chances at finding a donor aren't as good as others mightbe. She's a descendant of the Choctaw Tribe, and American Indianshave the lowest number of registered donors with the NationalMarrow Donor Program. Nearly 80,000 American Indians and AlaskaNatives are in the NMDP's database, compared to more than 5 millionwhite people.

"If you're a Caucasian _ a plain, vanilla Caucasian _ your chanceof getting a match is about 80 percent, but it drops offdramatically if you're a minority," said Laura Rooms, a pediatriconcologist with the Children's Hospital at the University ofOklahoma Medical Center.

To make up for the underrepresented parts of the population, thefederal program pays the $52 screening fee for minorities andcertain targeted donors including college athletes, police andfirefighters, said Stacy McLeod, the NMDP coordinator with theOklahoma Blood institute.

The Sooners football players were ideal candidates.

"These guys are young, their cells are viable, they will be able todonate for many years, which is extremely important, and they'remale. Those are big criteria," McLeod said. "Those are the ones wereally want because those are the ones that are going to graft, oractually work, in a patient."

Stoops said he came up with the idea for the screening by readingan article about a similar program at Wagner College, a FootballChampionship Subdivision school in Staten Island, N.Y.

"I thought, heck, why couldn't we? We've got a lot of strong,healthy young guys if they're willing to do it," said Stoops, whofrequently visits cancer patients at the children's hospital. "Wejust informed them that if they wanted to, there'd be thisopportunity."

There were 84 players, coaches, reporters and athletic departmentstaff members who went through the screening at Oklahoma. Wagnerreported getting 201 volunteers at its marrow drive in April, whichwas open to the public.

"Hopefully a lot of Division I schools will see what coach Stoopsis doing and then hopefully do it," said punter Mike Knall, whoalso got screened. "If we get all these numbers of people to gettheir DNA out there, you're bound to find someone who will meetyour match and save thousands or millions of lives."

When the database generates a match, the NMDP contacts theregistered donor to see if that person is still willing toparticipate. The donor then would go through a medical screening tomake sure the procedure will be safe and be given the choice togive either bone marrow or peripheral blood.

Rooms said a syringe is used to harvest the marrow from a donor'ships or back in an approximately hourlong procedure under generalanesthesia, while the blood donation takes longer but uses needlesin each arm. She said the donor usually has some "mild discomfort."

"To save somebody's life, it's a fairly minimal sacrifice," Roomssaid.

The screening is even easier. Stoops had to fill out a form withsome personal information _ and sign an autograph on a second form_ before the DNA collection, which takes about 10 seconds per swab.

"I think as much as anything just the general public doesn'trealize maybe how easy it is to be on the registry. I just did itin a total of 5 minutes," Stoops said. "I understand there will bea process if I were to be a donor for it but I think to helpsomeone to improve their life or to give them a chance to live,it's worth it, maybe the little bit of discomfort it might be, togive them that chance."

And maybe, just maybe, little Tallie will find a DNA match inquarterback Sam Bradford, who is of Cherokee descent, or in someonehe inspires to donate.

"There's a lot of kids who need bone marrow transplants, and it'sjust an opportunity for us to add to the possibilities that they'llfind a match and that they'll be able to get the transplant thatthey need," Bradford said.

"A lot of these kids need it to help them live, so it's justsomething that we can do to help people out."

A service of the Associated Press(AP)