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might have been another child's
(blood)," Mrs. Cohn said.
Doctors now feel Lauren has
the best chance of survival if she
can find someone who has the
same bone marrow and who is
willing to give some of it to her.
And that someone has to be
found soon.
"Every day, every hour
counts," said Eric Borman, a
friend of the family.
The problem is no one listed
on national and international
marrow- donor registers match-
es Lauren's tissue type.
Each year, 30,000 Americans
are diagnosed with potentially
fatal blood diseases like
leukemia. Many of those pa-
tients will respond to a conven-
tional course of therapy; others
will eventually require a bone-
marrow transplant.
Bone marrow is responsible
for producing blood cells in the
human body. Residing in the in-
terior of the bone and, in small-
er amounts, in the general blood
stream, marrow is harvested
from the back of the donor's hip
bone and then transfused into
the patient.
Annually, 10,000 patients,
those with blood illnesses and
others afflicted with diseases
like breast cancer, undergo the
transplant. About 50 percent of
the transplants succeed with the
patient going into remission.
Lauren's parents just want
a chance at success.
"Nothing is 100 percent," Mrs.
Cohn said. "I'll take what I can
get."
To have a match, six charac-
teristics or antigens of a donor's
tissue type have to be the same
as the patient's. Two of those
characteristics are broken down
further to ensure the best
chance of success.
Many matches are made in
the patient's own family; 25 to
30 percent of all bone-marrow
transplants come from a sibling.
Emily, Lauren's 1-year-old sis-
ter, is a 50 percent match.
Like the remaining bone-Mar-
row transplant patients, Lauren
is hoping to find an unrelated
donor. So far, though, not one of
the 3 million people on several
marrow-donor registries match-
es her tissue type.
According to Pat Steele, a reg-
istered nurse who is the bone-
marrow transplant coordinator
at the University of Michigan
Medical Center in Ann Arbor,
most of the matches of unrelat-
ed donors come from people with
similar genetic backgrounds.
Ashkenazi Jews, like Lauren,
will probably find a match
among people who are of the
same Eastern European de-
scent.
"There are certain antigens
that follow ethnic and racial
lines," Ms. Steele said. "Because
of that, generally speaking, you

are more likely to find a donor
within your ethnic and racial
group."
Because the search continues,
Lauren's family and friends are
organizing a tissue typing drive
called "A Match For Life," sched-
uled for Saturday and Sunday,
June 22-23. They hope to attract
as many Jews, as well as mem-
bers of the general population,
as possible.
"This isn't just for Lauren,"
Mrs. Cohn said. "This is for any
child or any adult who needs
this."
"If we can save one life with
this drive, it will all be worth it,"
added Hilary King, a family
friend.
Mr. Borman, who has spent
the past few weeks organizing
the tissue typing activity, said
the drive is set up to accommo-
date 2,000 to 5,000 individuals.
Rock Financial, the employer of
Lauren's dad, Gary Cohn, will
host the drive.
The Southeast Michigan
Chapter of the American Red
Cross plans to supply techni-
cians to draw the blood as well
as supply the necessary equip-
ment. In addition, the National
Marrow Donor Program will
supply half of the cost of the tis-
sue typing tests; each individual
test costs $45.
The rest of the cost, $22.50, is
generally assessed to the donor.
Daniel Gilbert, president of Rock
Financial, said the company will
pick up part of the tab.
"Anyone who cannot afford
this, we will pay for it," he said.
Rabbi Harold Loss of Temple
Israel said the congregation is
planning to send out an infor-
mational brochure to all con-
gregants urging participation in
the drive.
"This is not simply because
a child in the congregation needs
this," Rabbi Loss said. "It is not
a right but a responsibility to
make ourselves available to save
a life."
The family, including Mrs.
Cohn's brother, Glenn Cantor,
and her parents, Alice and
Seymour Cantor, is also hoping
that individuals who do not
meet the criteria necessary for
tissue typing will sponsor other
donors by paying for one or more
tests.
"It is unfortunate that it takes
something like this to ask
people to register for a chance to
be a donor," Mrs. Cohn said.
"But as a community, we now
have a chance to make a differ-
ence." E

/;t 'The Match For Life" tis-
sue typing drive will take
place at Rock Financial,
30600 Telegraph, Bingham
Farms, Saturday and Sun-
day, June 22-23, 8 a.m.-5
p.m. For more information,
please call (810) 540-6626.

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