BONE MARROW DONORS: Need same rights as organ donors

When my husband Mike was fighting blood cancer, our last hope for his survival was a bone marrow transplant. We didn’t have a matched donor in our family, so we turned to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to find a volunteer donor. Each year, this nonprofit connects 7,000 Americans with matching donors. Thanks to their help, a woman who we’d never met selflessly stepped up as Mike’s donor.

Sadly, Mike lost his battle with cancer in 2019, but his transplant ignited a glimmer of optimism that our children and grandchildren could have just a little more time with him. To show my gratitude and pay it forward, I have since become a volunteer advocate for NMDP.

This month, I met with Congressman Russ Fulcher’s staff to discuss the Life Saving Leave Act. The bipartisan bill would give bone marrow donors the same basic job protections that kidney and organ donors have, guaranteeing 40 non-consecutive hours of unpaid leave from work. This means they can take time off work to save a life, without having to fear losing their jobs.

It’s important because many patients have only one matched donor. So, if their match says “no” because they can’t take off work, a person in need loses their only hope of survival. I would like to thank Rep. Fulcher for taking an interest in this critical issue, and I urge him to co-sponsor the Life Saving Leave Act, so more families will have hope for more time together.

MELANIE GOULARTE

Post Falls