Looking For The Perfect Donor Match

SHORELINE - A Shoreline woman is fighting for her life, and she's leading a worldwide fight for thousands of people like her -- people of color who are desperately searching for a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. This weekend she's bringing her fight to Seattle.

Linda Lyons has been battling leukemia for 16 months. She's been searching for a bone marrow donor match during that time. And for 16 months, Linda's been riding an emotional roller coaster.

"It's a pendulum," Linda told KOMO 4 News, "You go back and forth thinking maybe this is the one and then you find out it's not, and you get a little bit sad and that's just part of the territory."

The leukemia has kept the fifth grade teacher out of the classroom for more than a year. She's been back to visit the kids who find inspiration in their teacher and her fight to beat the cancer.

Linda and her husband Ken will spearhead an international drive to register minority donors April 26 through April 28. Their goal is to get at least 5,000 to join the National Marrow Donor Program, or NMDP.

Marrow transplants require matching tissue traits, a much more likely match with someone of a similar ethnic heritage. Yet, minorities only make up about 10 percent of the 4.5 million donors.

"There are so many people who have walked this path before me or are walking it with me," said Linda Lyons, "and I realize there's potential with this weekend to do so many great things and save so many lives."

Lives like 5-year-old Nicole Howard, who is half Japanese and half Caucasian. Because of that, the odds of her finding a match are about 50,000 to 1. But to a father there's always the one.

"I will recruit people to the NMDP (National Marrow Donor Program) until Nicole has a match," her father Rob Howard told KOMO 4 News, "no matter what happens."

The fight to save Nicole and Linda starts with donors. And, it starts this weekend in Seattle.

Seattle is one of 18 cities holding bone marrow and blood stem cell drives this weekend. Others include New York City, Los Angeles, Portland and Seoul, South Korea.

Interested Seattle donors can volunteer at Swedish Medical Center on First Hill, or call the Puget Sound Blood Center for more information at (206) 292-1897.

You can also visit Linda Lyons' Web site at www.savinglinda.org.