On February 10, 2011, Representative Doris O. Matsui (D-CA) formally introduced the “Bone Marrow Failure Disease Research and Treatment Act” (H.R. 640).
H. R. 640 is invaluable legislation. It brings together resources from several Federal agencies to advance understanding of and treatment of bone marrow failure diseases such as Aplastic Anemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) and ParoPNH (PNH). As such, it and the bone marrow registry legislative bills are the single most important and valuable bills yet to be introduced to save lives of people with bone marrow failure diseases.
Senator John McCain, however, is proposing a bill to eliminate the funding to Bone Marrow Failure Research & Treatment that was allocated in February 2011. His purpose in doing this is obvious. That funding is under the Department of Defense & Research; he intends to redirect funding intended to save lives towards his war agenda. He wants those funds to take the lives of the thousands upon thousands of people in the USA who die from bone marrow failure diseases and the lives of our boys and girls whom are sent to fight for oil tycoons. That is just wrong.
YOU CAN HELP! Please take a few moments to visit the Grassroots page at AAMDS.org and send a letter to Senator McCain opposing his bill, and ask for your Senators' support. It's real easy. There are prewritten letters for you to use, just fill in your name and address, or you can write your own. Please send a letter and possibly save a life.
Aplastic Anemia affects approximately 10,000 to 12,000 people in the world each year. Leukemia affects approximately 245,000 people in the United States. Although Aplastic Anemia is non-cancerous, both it and Leukemia can be treated with a bone marrow transplant. The research and treatment funding to save those lives is in jeopardy with Senator John McCain's intended bill. Write to McCain and tell him that you oppose his bill. Write to your Senators and ask them to help save this funding in D.C. It only takes a minute to send these letters online.
Click here to go to the AAMDS.org Take Action page.
Or click here to go the AAMDS.org website.
YOU CAN ALSO WRITE TO:
Senator John McCain•Senator John McCain's Phoenix Office:
5353 North 16th Street
Suite 105
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Main: (602) 952-2410
Fax: (602) 952-8702
•Senator John McCain's Prescott Office:
122 North Cortez Street
Suite 108
Prescott, AZ 86301
Main: (928) 445-0833
Fax: (928) 445-8594
•Senator John McCain's Tempe Office:
4703 South Lakeshore Drive
Suite 1
Tempe, AZ 85282
Main: (480) 897-6289
Fax: (480) 897-8389
•Senator John McCain's Tucson Office:
407 West Congress Street
Suite 103
Tucson, AZ 85701
Main: (520) 670-6334
Fax: (520) 670-6637
•Senator John McCain's Washington Office:
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Main: (202) 224-2235
Fax: (202) 228-2862
Senator Doris MatsuiWashington Office
222 Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515
-or-
Senator Doris Matsui
Sacramento Office
501 I Street, Suite 12-600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Send a letter to your Senator: AAMDS.org; Donate to AAMDS.
Two years ago, my daughter was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. She received a bone marrow transplant. Her two children (2 & 3) have a Mom and we have her because of Bone Marrow Failure Research & Treatment. We strong endorse Senator Matsui's bill, and strongly oppose Senator McCain's bill to eliminate funding for Bone Marrow Failure Research & Treatment.
ReplyDeleteIn September 2010, my husband underwent major back surgery. Due to an injury to his vertabrae, some were dissolved. They rebuilt his vertabrae with blood stem cells thanks to Bone Marrow Failure Research & Treatment.
ReplyDeleteMcCain: I'm a Vietnam Veteran. I once had a great deal of admiration for you, but your proposal of a bill to eliminate bone marrow failure research and treatment has changed that. I emplore you to stop that bill. This research and treatment will save thousands of lives.
ReplyDeleteMcCain: I'm a Vietnam Veteran. I once had a great deal of admiration for you, but your proposal of a bill to eliminate bone marrow failure research and treatment has changed that. I emplore you to stop that bill. This research and treatment will save thousands of lives.
ReplyDeleteBone marrow failure research and treatment is directly tied to blood stem cell research and treatment.
At least 10,000 people diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia every year depend on bone marrow research and treatment for their life-saving bone marrow transplants. At least 245,000 from the US diagnosed with Leukemia do so. And while those few numbers may not matter to you, they are part of millions that rely upon that research and treatment throughout the world and hundreds of thousands here in the USA.
Add to that the many that rely upon bone marrow failure research and treatment for other treatments. In September 2010, I underwent back surgery. Today, I can walk and be a productive member of society because they used blood stem cells from my bone marrow to reconstruct my vertebrae.
Aplastic Anemia typically affects the very young and the very old. You may have missed out on this disease as a child, but you have a whole lot of years ahead of you to be one possible recipient of that research. It doesn't discriminate.
Please read our messages at http://onelifematters.blogspot.com.
Why eliminate the fund? at-least the government should know how many cases of Leukemia exist. Funds should be provided at any cost!
ReplyDeleteGoodbye Letter To Colleague