JULY IS AFRICAN AMERICAN BONE MARROW AWARENESS MONTH!
A Bone Marrow Wish Organization is on it's 10-City Tour!
"I joined the registry to hopefully help a firefighter, but I saved the life of a 2-year old boy, just like I would hope someone would do for my own son." John C. Frierson, Founder/Bone Marrow Donor
| History |
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John C. Frierson founded ABMW in November 2003, after registering at a drive hosted at his church for a local fire fighter in October 2002. Six months later he was chosen to save the life of a two-year old boy.
The bone marrow transplant was successfully completed in June 2003. The process was so non-evasive that John was inspired to share the critical need for minorities (especially African Americans) to join the National Marrow Donor Program - NMDP (Be the Match) registry using an innovative outreach approach that meets the target group in convenient places they frequent most! ABMW was  granted 501c3 status from the Internal Revenue Service December 2003. Since its inception, ABMW has registered more than 2,500 potential donors for the NMDP (Be the Match) registry and educated more than 8,000 minorities (people of color) to increase awareness about the critical need for bone marrow. The first year of the African American Bone Marrow Awareness Month Campaign (2010) reached thousands during the 5 city tour. The second year promises to make a significant impact as well as we embark on a 10 city tour. Family reunions, museums, and media outlets have embraced this movement and working in each of their local communities to spread the message to those who need a more personable, trusting approach.
ABMW has grown from a donor led organization to one that actively engages the in-kind support of professionals, donors, recipients, organ transplant specialists, psychologists, and several health organizations to continue its mission and expand its vision both in Michigan as well as other states with large under-represented populations (African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, Native American). Meeting and working with families helps us to refuel and continue this mission of building legacies, one family at a time. |
Our Mission is to provide education and awareness about bone marrow to the most under-represented groups on the national registry – Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans.
Our Vision is to increase awareness and eliminate the huge racial ethnic gap of potential donors on the registry.
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P.O. Box 21554, Detroit, MI 48221
