Special to Stripes In September, seven-year-old Cavion Holloway, right, died of leukemia. Now, his mother, Air Force Staff Sgt. Danielle Holloway, tries to hold bone marrow registration drives at the bases she visits. (Special to Stars and Stripes)
Until a few years ago, Air Force Staff Sgt. Danielle Holloway thought cancer was mostly an adult disease.
Then, in September, Holloway’s 7-year-old son, Cavion, lost a 17-month battle with leukemia after complications from a bone marrow transplant. Since then, she has made it her mission to educate others on the importance of registering for bone marrow donation.
“My goal is to hold a [bone marrow donor registration] drive at every base I travel to and through as long as my leadership allows me to,” Holloway said. “The pain is still very new some days, as my son only passed away 10 months ago, and having something like this to do in his honor makes me proud to know that I am potentially saving others from that pain,” Holloway said via e-mail. Her unit, the 379th Expeditionary Medical Group, is currently deployed to Southwest Asia.
When Holloway and her husband, Billy, held their first drive in February at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., more than 600 people registered, including one person who has been contacted already as a possible donor.
The registration process is surprisingly easy, Holloway said. All it takes is filling out a form and having each cheek swabbed twice. If a potential donor keeps his/her contact information current, then they’re on the list for life, Holloway said.
Anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good health is eligible, although because Holloway’s marrow drives involve the Department of Defense, only active duty, National Guard and Reserve military members and their immediate families and DOD civil service employees can participate.
Once someone is identified as a potential match, Holloway said, donors are asked to give four to five vials of blood for further testing. If those tests prove to be the best match for a patient, then marrow donation would follow.
One of the benefits of marrow donation is possibly meeting the person to whom you donated, Holloway said. Since the start of her family’s struggle with cancer, Holloway said, she has met donors and recipients from all walks of life, including Cavion’s donor, whom she met via e-mail. Unfortunately, Cavion’s donor wasn’t a perfect match.
“Losing my son to a blood cancer knowing that a perfect match may be walking around this earth with no clue ... drives my desire,” Holloway said.
On Friday, Holloway’s unit will hold a marrow registration drive in her son’s honor.
“Many more children and adults alike are searching today to find a match to save their loved ones, and if I can spare them the pain I have endured, I feel as though my son did not pass in vain,” she said.
For more information about bone marrow donation or to host your own registration drive, go online to www.dodmarrow.org or call Eddy A. Medina of the C.W. Bill Young/Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program at 800-MARROW-3, ext. 223.
