Firefighter Matched as Donor in Marrow Drive
Although Michael Manley’s job is to save lives, the Alhambra firefighter hopes to do so in a personal way next month.
During a bone marrow drive for a fellow employee’s two sons, Manley, 39, was found to be a match for another person awaiting a transplant.
On Oct. 12, at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, some of Manley’s marrow will be removed for transplant to the donor, whose name Manley won’t know until afterward.
“When they told me, I was excited, and thought, ‘Wow! They actually found someone!” he said.
Three years ago, Alhambra firefighter Scott LaRue lost a son to a rare disease and then learned that two other sons also have the disease.
The Red Cross, the National Bone Marrow Donor Program and firefighters found matches for LaRue’s two boys, and they are now doing fine.
Manley was tested at the time, and his results were entered in a worldwide database. Last month, his data matched someone in need.
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