Belvoir colleagues help to save a life

Scott Greene and Kelly Terry have known each other for about five years. Greene considers Terry a mentor, as they both work for different divisions of the U.S Army Acquisition Support Center. Greene is an analyst on Fort Belvoir. Terry works in New Jersey for the organization as an acquisition project officer.
The effort of one of them regarding a common bond they share, a disease affecting family members of each of them, may very well save a life — that of Mya Terry, Kelly’s 7-year-old daughter.
Greene said when he heard that Mya had been diagnosed with leukemia, after she had battled lymphoma, he “wanted to help to do anything for the cause. I want to increase the amount of potential bone-marrow donors. And, the timing allowed me to help Kelly when she most needs it.”
Greene put the word out about an online bone-marrow registrant drive, on behalf of Mya, which closes Wednesday.
“I compare it to a spider web the way it can increase awareness and participation. I’ve sent the information through-out my work and agency, and to people via Facebook and via e-mail. Now, I learn that volunteers from 43 states have now registered because of my little bit of effort. I don’t know people in 43 states,” Greene said.
As a result of Greene’s efforts, 463 people have added their names to the national registry since mid-August.
Greene has taken on this cause not only for his colleague, but also to give back for what he and his family went through. In 2002, when he was dating his wife, Dani, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Dani, who is Jewish, ended up having bone marrow donated from a German man of Eastern European descent.
It was then that Scott also signed up to be a bone-marrow donor. Scott has been called twice as a match and, in 2005, donated bone marrow to a 50-year-old woman.
As a result of the Greenes’ experiences in 2002, about 15 people were identified as bone-marrow donors and successfully donated bone marrow or stem cells.
“Everyone has a different genetic makeup,” Greene said, adding that Mya’s younger brother, often the most likely match, was not a match.
“By me doing this, it can mean a high reward for Mya and Kelly. If I can take something off her plate when she’s going through this, then it’s my pleasure,” Greene said. “It’s easy. The payoff is getting hundreds of people willing to help.”
“My little bit can increase the donor pool, which helps exponentially. Support has been huge. I want to give back and I’ve found that people help when they can,” he said.
Greene said people on the bone marrow registry who become donors are only in a hospital on an outpatient basis. “There’s no risk to them other than risks that come with any anesthesia. There’s a little discomfort, but, a donor can potentially save a life.”
Terry said that two weekends ago, she saw 586 people participate in a live bone-marrow drive in New Jersey.
“It’s wonderful what Scott has done for us,” she said in a phone interview. “Had he not done what he did, with an online registration, we wouldn’t have even known about the possibility of live donor drives. Within 10 days, my friends, family and co-workers pulled all this success together.”
“I’m just blown away. There was a college student who heard about us on the radio, didn’t know us, but contacted a local police station to find out where the drive was,” Terry said. “I am just completely overwhelmed at the support.”
Aside from raising awareness about Mya’s need, Greene hopes to educate more people about the general need for registrants.
“It’s more important for minorities and mixed races to register, as they are often matches to be donors,” Greene said.
The National Bone Marrow Donor Program indicates there are not enough racially or ethnically diverse members on the registry to meet patients’ needs. Currently, a little more than 1.8 million people of the nearly 7 million registry members are racially and/or ethnically diverse.
Of the patients who need a transplant but do not get one within six months, 83 percent are African-American or black; 81 percent are American Indian/ Alaska native; 75 percent are Asian/native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; 61 percent are Caucasian; and 55 percent are Hispanic/ Latino.
More information on the drive for Mya Terry is available from Scott Greene, scott.green4@ us.army.mil.