Bone marrow drive aides Air Force family

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Heather Stanton
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  More than 200 people registered as bone marrow donors to support the son of a 4th Operations Group civilian June 9 at the Goldsboro Police Department gym. 

James Serlick, who was diagnosed with Leukemia in March, is the son of Janay Serlick, the group's resource advisor. Though his Leukemia is in clinical remission, he is still in need of a bone marrow transplant for a full recovery. 

James is married to his wife of four years, Paige, and has worked as a police officer for the Goldsboro Police Department since 2005, said Mrs. Serlick. He enjoys working out and is active within his church. 

"Six marrow donors from the National Marrow Donor Program have been identified as matches to James," said Mrs. Serlick. "This marrow donor drive was to register more possible donors onto the list and raise awareness of how others can help." 

Cindy Stallard, employee health nurse for the city of Goldsboro and marrow donor drive coordinator, believes the drives do help save lives. 

"Due to many donor drives for the National Marrow Donor Registry throughout the country, the likelihood of finding an unrelated donor has increased dramatically for patients from all racial and ethnic groups," said Ms. Stallard. 

According to Ms. Stallard, the National Marrow Donor Registry is the largest and most diverse in the world and is accredited by the World Marrow Donor Association. 

"The registry lists more than six million people who have volunteered to donate marrow or blood cells to any patient, anywhere in the world," she said. "Thousands of patients with Leukemia and other life-threatening diseases depend on the registry to find a matching donor to save their life." 

Those who would like to register must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and meet certain health guidelines, said Ms. Stallard. The process to register includes filling out paperwork on health history and swabbing the inside of each cheek to get cheek cells that will determine a match. If chosen as a match, volunteers will be notified and can decide if they want to go through with the procedure. 

The Serlick family would like to thank all the volunteers who helped make the James Serlick Marrowthon a success and who have been there for the family during the tough time. 

"To me the bone marrow drive was the most rewarding thing people have done for me," said James. "Those people could possibly save someone else's life in the future."