Woman meets her bone marrow donor

Bayside resident Ellen Simon is alive today because of a bone marrow transplant she received a little more than two years ago. On Thursday, October 11, she met her donor, Michael Davies, for the first time during an annual dinner held by the Don Monti Memorial Research Foundation.
The foundation was established 36 years ago by the parents of Monti, who passed away from myeloblastic leukemia in June of 1972 when he was 16 years old. The research foundation was established at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, which is where Monti had died.
“Immediately after he died, my parents decided to take this tragedy and turn it into something positive,” said Caroline Monti Saladino, who is now the foundation’s president.
In March of 2005, Simon was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. It eventually progressed into acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and she was told she would need a bone marrow transplant at the end of April. At the end of August of that year, she went in for the transplant.
“Every day I get out of bed and I say every day is a gift and I thank my donor, Michael, for this gift of life,” said Simon, who is still active in volunteering at the hospital and talks to other patients about what she went through. “Without him, I wouldn’t be here.”
Although Simon and Davies had exchanged e-mails before the Thursday, October 11 dinner, which coincided with what would have been Don Monti’s 52nd birthday, this marked their first in-person meeting.
“I thank her (Ellen) for giving me such a great, wonderful opportunity to do something so special in my life that I could never forget,” Davies said. “It’s so special for me to meet her finally.”
Dr. Ruthee-Lu Bayer, the chief of the Don Monti Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, explained that with the disease the bone marrow is not functioning properly and makes abnormal cells. After it has been replaced with healthy marrow from a donor, the new bone marrow takes over blood cell production.
Bayer also said that between 35 and 40 percent of patients who look for a donor on the unrelated registry actually find matches.
“It can be difficult and the more people that are on the registry, the better,” she said.
For more information on the Don Monti Memorial Research Foundation, call 516-367-5036 or visit www.donmontifoundation.org. To find out how you can register to be a bone marrow donor, contact the Don Monti Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit at 516-734-8973.