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Bone marrow donor recruitment drive seeks help for New Jersey 10-year-old

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Recruitment drive seeks bone marrow donor for 10-year-old girl

People in New Jersey answered the call to find a bone marrow match for a 10-year-old girl coping with a rare and painful disease.

WEST ORANGE, New Jersey (WABC) -- People in New Jersey answered the call to find a bone marrow match for a 10-year-old girl coping with a rare and painful disease.

A drive was held at West Orange High School Saturday to add more people to the Be the Match Registry to help Veronica Depauli and others like her.

She lives with a rare condition called Autosomal Dominant Osteopetrosis Type 2 that causes abnormal density in her bones making them more prone to fractures and can lead to bone marrow failure.

The only known cure for her disease is a stem cell or bone marrow transplant.

After three years of searching, she has yet to find a match.

"I want to say thank you for trying to help," Veronica said. "Also thank you for helping any others."

Organizers focused the drive on adding donors who share Veronica's Latino heritage.

Just 7% of the donors on the registry are Latino.

Organizers are asking anyone who was unable to attend, but is interested in seeing if they are a match for Veronica or someone else, to order a swab kit from the Be The Match website.