Thanks to John's wide network of contacts, and his uncanny ability to schmooze with the best, nearly the entire city fire department turned out, as well as the mayor of the city and his wife. There were also many old friends of mine, former professors, and even a few relatives wary of needles. Even the two women drawing blood wound up drawing each other's to register.

Our goal had been 200, but that was probably a bit lofty anyway (maybe next year). It was an exhilerating day, filled with nervous excitement. I'm still amazed at the effort friends and strangers went to on my behalf.

My search for a compatible bone marrow donor began on May 15, 2000, after I had a consultation at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash. I was diagnosed with CML on March 9, 2000.

My family and I were convinced that my brother or sister would be a match. But neither was. Neither were my parents. And none of my extended family has been identified as a suitable donor, either.

Unfortunately, it turns out that I have an unusual HLA antigen combination. Thus, we have still come up empty; no suitable donor has been found, after several false hopes.

Thanks to generous contributions from individuals, the American Red Cross, businesses, and other groups, we were able to make sure that registering during the bone marrow drive was completely free. It usually costs about $80 in that area.

Registering as a potential bone marrow donor is as simple as giving a little blood. Just roll up your sleeve, feel a little "pinch" from the needle, and it's over before you know it.

For more information about becoming a donor, visit the National Marrow Donor Program Web site or the HLA Registry Foundation Inc.

Our press coverage:

The Olean (N.Y.) Times Herald

Nov. 7, 2000
Community spirit: reaching out to woman in need of a bone marrow transplant
By Tracy Riordan
The Times Herald

You probably don’t know Jennifer Gangloff, but she’s hoping that won’t keep you from stopping by the bone marrow donor drive in her name this Saturday.

The 1989 St. Bonaventure University graduate was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in March. It was decided soon after that a bone marrow transplant was her best possibility for a cure.

Today, she finds herself still searching international registries for a bone marrow donor and finding a lot of friends in places she never expected.

“People I have never met in my life have been making an effort on my behalf,” she said. “My family, friends and even strangers have been coming through for me in ways I never anticipated.”

Ms. Gangloff will be in town for Saturday’s drive, which runs from noon to 4:30 p.m. in Butler Gym at St. Bonaventure. Appointments aren’t necessary and there is no charge.

THE DRIVE was organized in her name after a pair of college friends — John Eberth of Olean, his wife, Beth, and Jason Beyersdorfer of Hoboken, N.J. — heard about her CML diagnosis and wanted to help.

“I think I’d do the same for any of my friends who needed help. When I look back and try to think about people who helped me along the way, who helped me become the reporter I am today, she was one of them,” said Mr. Eberth, a staff writer for The Times Herald. “The way I look at it, if we have a chance to save anybody in Jennifer’s name, that makes this whole thing worthwhile.”

Mr. Eberth said that many people and groups have stepped up to help the cause, like St. Bonaventure and President Dr. Robert J. Wickenheiser, dean of the school’s mass communications department, Dr. Lee Coppola, the Cattaraugus County Health Department, Jamestown Community College in Olean and the Big 30.

“I’ve covered these events, but being involved is a real validation for my love for this community. People here don’t need to know Jennifer personally. She’s a young woman in trouble who needs our help and we have a big enough heart to do it. I really am amazed,” he said.

"Knowing that somebody else might be helped is what gives me hope."

Mr. Eberth noted that about $3,000 has been raised for the drive so far and more is needed to help cover the cost of each blood test, which runs about $70. Donations can be sent to the Gangloff Leukemia Support Fund, First Tier Bank & Trust, 129 N. Union St., Olean, N.Y. 14760.

THOUGH THE DRIVE is in her name, Ms. Gangloff said that the focus really isn’t on her.

“I’ve learned that this drive is not about me. There’s a very remote chance that a donor is going to be found at this drive who is suitable for me,” she said. “But knowing that somebody else might be helped is what gives me hope. It helps reduce any sense of self-pity because I know that other people are in more imminent danger than I.”

Dr. Thomas Lutz, an oncologist with the Olean Medical Group, said that though the odds are small that her donor will be found this weekend, they do exist.

“Yes, there could be a potential match, but the larger point is that the more of us who are in the registry the more of us who are available to match with somebody,” he said.

Finding a donor proves difficult at times because a near-perfect match is needed. Even relatives wanting to donate marrow find they are unable because the match isn’t close enough. That’s the case with Ms. Gangloff.

“If you’re injecting someone else’s immune system into you, it better match because the recipient will lose the fight if it doesn’t,” Dr. Lutz said.

On Saturday, potential donors will complete an application and consent form before having a blood sample drawn by an American Red Cross worker.

Once a match is found, donating is much harder on the recipient than the donor, Dr. Lutz said.

Donors are under anesthesia while doctors use needles to penetrate the bone and withdraw the marrow. The end result is they end up with about a liter of marrow and, “You’ll end up feeling like you’ve been playing football for 10 hours with no pads on. That’s it and the pain will be gone in about five days,” he said.

Recipients, on the other hand, undergo lethal doses of chemotherapy to kill off the bad bone marrow, making room for the transplant. The hopes are that the new marrow will regenerate blood free of leukemia and the patient will then be cured. But oftentimes, the cure winds up being worse than the disease.

Because the transplant is so hard on a patient, about 25 percent of recipients don’t survive. But many people do. The Fred Hutchison Cancer Center in Seattle, Wash., through which Ms. Gangloff is working to find a donor, has statistics that show there is up to 70 percent survival rate 10 years after the transplant for people with CML.

The Buffalo (N.Y.) News

Oct. 26, 2000
REPORTERS' NOTEBOOK

EVER WONDER if you're somebody's type?

Here's a chance to find out.

On Nov. 11, the St. Bonaventure University community will be host to a bone-marrow drive to combat leukemia and other blood-related cancers.

The drive is being held in honor of Jennifer M. Gangloff, 34, a 1989 alumna and former editor of the campus newspaper, according to Suzanne Wilcox English of the school's office of public relations.

Gangloff, a senior health insurance writer at insure.com, was diagnosed in March with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare form of bone marrow cancer. The only known cure is a bone marrow transplant with marrow donated by a volunteer.

Despite an exhaustive search for potential donors currently registered with marrow donor programs throughout the world, Gangloff's type has yet to be found.

The bone marrow drive will be held from noon to 8:30 p.m. in Butler Gym on the St. Bonaventure campus. Music and refreshments will be provided by community merchants and groups.

And for those interested but are unable to attend, donations to help defray her medical cost can be made to the Gangloff Leukemia Support Fund, First Tier Bank and Trust, 129 N. Union St., Olean, N.Y. 14760. . . .

The Bona Venture

(St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) University student-run newspaper)
Oct. 6, 2000
Bone marrow drive planned for alumnus
By Brigid Mullen
Staff Writer
(reprinted verbatim)

Organizers of a bone marrow drive scheduled for Nov. 11 in Butler Gym hope the event will save the life of at least one person searching for a bone marrow match.

The drive is being held in honor of 1989 St. Bonaventure graduate Jennifer Gangloff of West Hartford, Conn., who was diagnosed in March with chronic myelgenous leukemia (CML), a rare form of bone marrow cancer for which a bone marrow transplant is the only known cure. Despite a nationwide search for donors, no match for Gangloff, a senior health insurance writer at insure.com, surfaced.

"The dream would be to get a match for Jennifer," said John Eberth, one of the drive's organizers, because a national search that included her family found no matches, "We're going to find a match for somebody," he added. If 400 people volunteer, the Red Cross expects to find one match.

Gangloff, a journalism and mass communication major and editor of The Bona Venture while at St. Bonaventure, contacted Lee Coppola, dean of the Jandoli school of journalism and mass communication, and asked if a bone marrow testing drive could be held on campus, said Eberth.

With the support of Coppola and Robert J. Wickenheiser, university president, two of Gangloff's friends and fellow alumni offered to organize the event. Both had known of Gangloff's diagnosis in March.

"We felt helpless. We wanted to do something to help," said Eberth, a staff writer at The (Olean) Times Herald and adjunct professor at St. Bonaventure. Eberth said he and Beyersdorfer offered to be "Jennifer's soldiers," and do what she needed for the drive. It costs about $70 to perform one test, and the Henrietta Red Cross has offered to reduce the cost of the first 200 people to $21 each, Eberth said. Eberth and Beyersdorfer set up a fund for donations, and are currently searching for business and individual sponsors who will donate money to run the drive. They have already received support from First Tier Bank and Trust, The Times Herald and the United Way, Eberth said.

They expect about 200-400 volunteers at the drive, which will run from noon to 4:30 p.m., Eberth said. With that number they hope at least one person somewhere in the country will match one of the volunteers.

Volunteers have their blood tested, typed and listed on a national registry. Individuals who need a bone marrow transplant can search the registry to find a match, and if a match is discovered, further tests are run, Beyersdorfer said

The possibility of saving someone makes it all worthwhile, though he added that not running the drive was never a consideration, it was something they willingly "threw themselves" into.

"There is a very real chance we're going to save someone's life," Eberth said, adding that it will be a life saved in Gangloff's name.

Any monetary donations can be sent to The Gangloff Leukemia Support Fund, First Tier Bank and Trust, 129 N. Union St., Olean, N.Y., 14760.