They Meet Recipients Of Marrow Donation
Two firefighters stationed in Elmhurst who donated bone marrow to cancer-stricken patients were added to the FDNY’s “Honor Roll of Life”-and got a chance to meet the people whose lives they saved by their donation- at a ceremony held at the Fire Department’s headquarters in Brooklyn last Wednesday, Feb. 27.
Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano; Christopher D. Hillyer, M.D., president and CEO of New York Blood Center (NYBC); and Howard P. Milstein, chairman of NYBC’s Board of Trustees joined them to add the names of the bone marrow donors to the Honor Roll of Life at the ninth annual induction ceremony.
During the ceremony, Firefighter Douglas Chiz, 29, of Ladder Co. 136 met the recipient of his life-saving bone marrow, Angela Rugh, 23, of Jeanette, Pa. In addition, Firefighter Scott Annicelli of Ladder 136 in Queens was reunited with the recipients of his bone marrow donation, Merritt Navazio, 30, of Fredericksburg, Md.
“The 149 FDNY members on our Honor Roll of Life who have selflessly made donations of stem cells and bone marrow epitomize the lifesaving dedication of every member of this Department,” said Cassano. “Each of these beautiful stories is a life saved and a lasting friendship created thanks to the incredible part- nership between the FDNY, the New York Blood Center and the Be The Match Registry.”
“Most recipients of bone marrow never get the chance to meet their donors. The fact that 149 FDNY members have given without question- and have done so knowing they will likely never meet the person they have saved-makes these gifts all the more meaningful,” added Hillyer. “Each one of these donors has gone above and beyond the call of duty, and all deserve our thanks.”
“This morning we met three individuals who were cured of leukemia and lymphoma because someone from the FDNY stepped up and donated marrow,” said Milstein. “These reunions are always an emotional reminder of why it is vital that we join the bone marrow registry.”
Rugh grew up in the small town of Jeannette, Pa. At the age of 16, she was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She underwent chemotherapy, radiation treatments and a self-transplant of bone marrow.
In 2008, she received the bone marrow transplant from Chiz that would save her life. She was able to recover in time to walk with her classmates at graduation. In 2011, she once again needed a transplant from Firefighter Chiz.
Today, Rugh is a Psychology major at the University of Pittsburgh and finds great pleasure in charity work, and art, having illustrated a children’s book to be published later this year. She was joined at the ceremony by her mother, Audra Rugh.
Firefighter Chiz joined the FDNY in March 2007. He, along with every member of his probationary firefighter class, joined the National Bone Marrow Registry before graduating from the FDNY Fire Academy. Only a few months later, Chiz learned he was a possible match for a 17-year-old girl in need of a bone marrow transplant.
Acting on the opportunity to save a life, Chiz agreed to whatever donation would be needed to save this young girl. On Feb. 14, 2008, Firefighter Chiz donated bone marrow at North Shore Manhasset Hospital. His second donation was made in January, 2011.
Navazio was diagnosed with leukemia in the summer of 2001 at the age of 18, shortly after graduating high school. Due to a rare gene mutation, he did not have a perfect donor match available in his family. In March 2002, Merritt received the life-saving transplant from Annicelli.
Firefighter Annicelli joined the FDNY in February 1999 and, while a probationary firefighter at the FDNY Fire Academy, he joined the bone marrow registry. When notified that he matched an 18 year-old young man, Annicelli agreed immediately to donate his bone marrow.
Both men have grown close over the last eleven years, and when Navazio married his wife, Anna, Annicelli stood by his side as a groomsman.
Members of the FDNY make up New York Blood Center’s single largest group of bone marrow and stem cell donors. To date a total of 149 FDNY members have given these gifts to patients-in some cases more than once-accounting for 10 percent of all donors from New York Blood Center.
The FDNY encourages its members to donate blood and other blood products, such as platelets, bone marrow and stem cells. Its bone-marrowdonation partnership with NYBC began in 1990. Over the past 20 years, the FDNY has become the single largest group on NYBC’s bone marrow registry with more than 8,000 FDNY members on the donor list. Probationary firefighters are encouraged to sign up for the bone marrow registry during their training at the Fire Academy on Randall’s Island.
The NYBC serves more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. It is also home to the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute and the National Cord Blood Program at the Howard P. Milstein National Cord Blood Center, the world’s largest public cord blood bank.
The NYBC provides medical services and programs (clinical, transfusion and hemophilia services) through our medical professionals along with consultative services in transfusion medicine. For a list of NYBC blood drives and donor center locations in NY and NJ, please visit www.nybloodcenter.org and click on the “Locate a Blood Drive” link or call 1-800-933-2566.
Be The Match is a movement that engages a growing community of people inspired to help patients who need a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant from an unrelated donor. The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), a leader in the field of marrow and cord blood transplantation, created Be The Match to provide opportunities for the public to become involved in saving the lives of people with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases.
Volunteers can join the Be The Match Registry-the world’s largest and most diverse listing of potential marrow donors and donated cord blood units-as well as contribute financially to Be The Match Foundation or give their time.
For more information, visit BeTheMatch.org or call 1-800- MARROW-2.
