When Montreal’s Jayden Roll was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder in February, her siblings tested negative as life-saving bone marrow donors. However, after sharing their story with over a quarter of a million internet users, 3,500 people have joined the bone marrow registry in the hope they can help. With no match to date and the family’s search growing more aggressive, they and a team of tireless volunteers hope social media holds the key to finding Jayden’s cure.
Montreal, Quebec -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/24/2013 -- Four-year-old Jayden Roll is like any other young girl; playful, energetic and in the prime of her formative years. However, unlike most children her age, Jayden is living with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and requires an urgent stem cell transplant in order to stay alive. As a twenty-first-century child, Jayden does have one thing on her side; the power of social media.
The statistics are hopeful, with one-billion global Facebook users. But with only twenty-one-million people on the Bone Marrow Registry, fifty percent of the ten-thousand patients that require a transplant each year don’t outlive their conditions due to the lack of registered donors. With social media holding so much potential, individuals across the content are calling for internet users to share the need for donors and sign up themselves.
To date over 3500 people across North America have heard Jayden’s story and have taken action thanks to the power of social media. With no match to date and time running out, some are dedicating their full resources to helping Jayden get the transplant she both needs and deserves.
One of these heroes is Bradford Pine, a New York-based wealth management executive who has himself saved a life after testing positive and donating his own bone marrow. With incredible gravitas due to his far-reaching influence, Pine has made it his personal mission to help spread the word, get people on the Bone Barrow Registry and give Jayden a new lease of life.
“It didn’t hurt, didn’t disrupt my life in any way yet it literally saved someone else’s life. There is no reason not to become a donor in my eyes and, with the immense power of social media, the lack of sign-ups is actually absurd,” says Pine, President of Bradford Pine Wealth Group.
He continues, “Jayden’s cause has already signed up over three thousand people, but she deserves more. I’m urging people to sign up to the Bone Marrow Registry, tell their friends to and ask them to further spread the plea. If people want to know what being a donor is like – call me, email me or do anything you can to get my attention. I’ll give you all of the information you need to decide that you are making the right decision.”
Pine, along with a team of volunteers, has set up donation drives in cities including Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and even Boston. Their next event takes place in New York City on May 5th, with further drives planned across North America.
“If quirky photos can be seen by a million people the day they hit the social media scene, we have a responsibility to use the technology and its sharing power for the greater good of humanity. The difference between the social media population and the donor registry is massive. Do more; become a donor today,” Pine adds.
Anyone is welcome to join the Bone Marrow Registry, although men between the ages of 17-35 are most likely to experience fewer post-transplant complications.
More information on upcoming drives as well as Jayden’s progress can be found at her official website: http://CureforJayden.ca
About the Cause: Jayden Roll
Meet Jayden Roll. A funny, vibrant and loving little 4-year-old girl from Montreal. On February 11th, 2013, Jayden was diagnosed with MDS, a disease that may soon develop into AML Leukemia, a disease that will require her to find a stem cell / bone marrow donor in order to survive. In the days and weeks since, Jayden's family, friends and many kind strangers have come together to begin the fight to save her life. Please join us in any way you can.