Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1455123
28 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Spring 2022 simple as requesting a swab kit and the results will be added to the registries going forward. If a match for Steve is found, that information will be forwarded to his doctors and steps toward sched- uling the procedure can begin. However, when I spoke with Steve on the phone, he was adamant that this is about more than just him. A new patient is diagnosed with blood cancer every twenty-seven seconds, and he is hopeful that if a member of our Local is matched with another patient, we will step up to save a life— any life—that can be saved. This is especially important for our members of color, as the abil- ity to find a matching donor is highly skewed around ethnic backgrounds. According to the data on bethematch.org, while there is a seventy- nine percent likelihood of finding a compatible match for Caucasian patients, that probability drops to sixty percent, forty-eight percent, forty- seven percent, and twenty-nine percent for Native American, Hispanic, Asian & Pacific Islander, and African American patients respectively. All of these groups are dangerously underrepresented across donor registries, making it far more diffi- cult for patients of color to receive the life-saving treatment that they need. If you do not meet the donor age requirements or are not healthy enough to become a donor, there is still plenty that you can do. In January of this year, the American Red Cross declared a national blood shortage amidst the omicron vari- ant surge of COVID-19, with distributors being forced to ration supplies for fear of running out. For obvious reasons, this is of particular con- cern for blood cancer patients like Steve, many of whom undergo routine blood transfusions in order to compensate for the abnormal cells their bodies produce. Signing up to become a blood donor does not come with the same strict restric- tions as becoming a marrow donor, and so I am encouraging everyone reading this to do so if they can. According to the Red Cross, a single blood donation can save as many as three lives, mean- ing that if every person receiving this magazine were to donate, up to seventy-five hundred lives could be saved. There's also a need for monetary donations. Donations of any size to either Be the Match or DKMS can mean the difference between life and death for blood cancer patients, as they facili- tate outreach to expand the registry databases, cover the costs of registering new donors, and go toward research for new methods of treating blood cancer. Both organizations have longstand- ing reputations of good faith conduct when it comes to handling donor money and are relent- less in their shared mission to fight blood cancer across the globe. As far as Steve is concerned, this difficult bat- tle will continue until a match can be found. Between the heightened risk posed by COVID-19 and the toll chemotherapy takes on him, it has been difficult for him to work in the last year. In January, he spoke about his condition at our Local 695 General Membership Meeting. "I want to live," he told us. "I don't like asking for help, but I'm asking for everyone to help get the word out. If we find a match, that would be wonderful. But if we can help save someone else's life too, that would make me very happy." Getting the word out is the very least that we can do. The thoughts of everyone at Local 695 will continue to be with Steve as his fight continues. If anyone would like to reach out to him to offer support of any kind, please reach out to the Local 695 office to be put in contact. In the meantime, sign up to become a donor if you can. Sign up to give blood if you can. Sign up to give money if you can. Save a life if you can. "I want to live," he told us. "I don't like asking for help, but I'm asking for everyone to help get the word out. If we find a match, that would be wonderful. But if we can help save someone else's life too, that would make me very happy."