Community Walk Will Support the Search for Lifesaving Stem-cell Donors
WATERTOWN — The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry will hold its 15th Annual Walk of Life on Saturday, September 19, beginning at St. James Armenian Church, 465 Mount Auburn Street in Watertown.
Walk-in registration will open at 10:30 a.m., and the walk will begin at 11:00 a.m. Advance registration is available online.
The annual Walk of Life brings families, friends and community members together in support of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening blood-related diseases who are searching for matched stem-cell donors.
“The Walk of Life is a joyful community event, but it has a very serious purpose,” said Melanne Ghahraman, Sports Sponsor Outreach Director for ABMDR. “Every person who walks with us helps spread awareness—and every new person who joins the Registry could potentially become the lifesaving match a patient is waiting for.”
The day will also include a variety of door prizes, including tickets to professional and collegiate sporting events in the Boston area, gift certificates and other surprises.
While the prizes add excitement to the day, the greatest reward is helping bring hope to patients and their families. A patient’s matching donor may be found in Armenia, the United States or another part of the world. For someone facing a life-threatening diagnosis, one person’s decision to register as a potential donor can become the gift of life.
Founded in 1999, the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry educates and recruits potential bone marrow stem-cell donors and helps patients of Armenian and non-Armenian heritage find genetically matched unrelated donors. ABMDR operates internationally, with outreach activities in Armenia, the United States, Europe, the Middle East and other regions with Armenian communities, supported by its specialized tissue-typing laboratory in Yerevan.
The Walk of Life combines a welcoming community gathering with that worldwide lifesaving mission. Participants of all ages are invited to walk, celebrate and help spread a message of hope.
Be a Hero. Save a Life.
Click here to read additional information about ABMDR.