Hello Everyone
Further down in this post please find a copy of a letter from Joyce Green. Joyce is the wife of Judson Green the former Chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts and one of the best leaders in the land. I talk about Judson in my book Creating Magic. Judson is the most respected leader Disney Parks and Resorts has ever had.
Judson was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is in need of a bone marrow transplant. For those of you interested in being a “specific” donor for Judson or in joining the National Donor Bank, the letter shares steps which would allow you to be tested as a possible match and the details of the transplant. As you’ll see, the process is quite easy. I know you join with me in sending your prayers and best wishes for Judson and his family.
Everyone in our family is being tested except me as I am too old and as of today even older as it is my birthday. The age restrictions are that you have to be between 18-60.
Should you have questions or wish to reach out to him, please feel free to call Peggy Brandsen at 312-894-7801.
This is an easy thing to do so I hope many of your will consider it and best of all it is quite rewarding to save a life. I did that for my wife a couple of years ago and it is the thing I am most proud of.
Best wishes……Lee
March 12, 2011
Dear Family and Friends,
As you may know, Judson’s leukemia has recurred, and we are in the middle of a series of weekly treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. If all goes well, he will be a candidate for a bone marrow transplant (or stem cell transplant, as it is sometimes called). Over the past six weeks, the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center has been working through the National Marrow Donor Program to find a donor match for Judson. At this point, they have found only one possible match – a “good” one, but not a “perfect” one – and so they continue to search. The doctors would like to have a donor match found and ready by this May, if possible.
Many people have offered to be tested, and we very much appreciate your concern, support and willingness to help. We have found a way to expedite testing for anyone who would like to volunteer. The Kashi Clinical Lab is a private lab in Portland, Oregon that will give us access to test results much more quickly than we could get through the National Marrow Donor Program. We have set up an account at the clinic so that friends and family may be tested at no charge. While we encourage those of you who are interested to enroll in the National Marrow Donor Program, testing by the Kashi Lab will not automatically list you as a donor in the national program. If you are serious about being a donor for anyone with whom you are a match and would like to be registered for the National Marrow Donor Program, you can send your test results from the Kashi Lab to enroll in their program.
If you are a match for Judson or for anyone needing a bone marrow transplant, the process of donating bone marrow has generally become a very simple and noninvasive process:
- The first step is to get tested. This involves a simple cheek swab.
- The likelihood is very small that you will be a match. However, if you are a potential match, you will be called to do more testing to determine how close a match you are.
- If you are chosen to be a donor, you would be given medication several days before the procedure which would cause excess stem cells to be released into your blood. THE PROCESS OF DONATION ONLY INVOLVES FILTERING YOUR BLOOD. There is almost never an extraction of marrow from your bone anymore. The procedure would take several hours, but there is no recovery time and you would be free to go right away. With a few hours of your time, you have potentially saved a life!
If you are interested in being tested for Judson, we ask that you please be sure to follow through with sending in your test as soon as you can. The Mayo Clinic generally follows the guidelines set forth by the National Marrow Donor Program. For instance, the age restrictions for being a donor are 18 to 60 years old. You can read about this and other health restrictions online at: www.marrow.org . If you would like to volunteer to be tested for Judson, you can obtain a kit by calling the Lab at 877-879-1815. You will need to ask for a kit to be tested for Judson Green.
The lab will send you a kit (by two-day UPS). The initial test is a cheek swab that you will need to send back to them (you will have to pay the postage for this). They will do the analysis for each test and send the results to the Mayo Clinic to be compared to Judson’s needs. A copy of your results will also be sent to you for your files. If you are a potential match you will be contacted by the Mayo Clinic for further testing.
When you get your kit, you will need the following information to fill out the consent form:
Patient Information: Send results to:
Name: Judson Green Transplant Coordinator: Michele Skaar
Date of Birth: 6-27-1952 Facility: Mayo Clinic
Fax #: 507-266-2855
If you have any other questions you may call Peggy Brandsen at 312.894.7801. Thank you for your willingness to help — we are hoping and praying to find the best match possible!
Sincerely,
Joyce Green