Dyersville Community Searching For Donors To Save Lives

By Addison Speck, Reporter

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC), seen in this aerial photo looking northeast. A small portion of Kinnick Stadium is seen at bottom left. Hawkins Drive (Hawkins Dr.) is seen at left, Melrose Avenue (Melrose Ave.) at bottom. August 15, 2006.

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By KCRG Intern

Story Created: Jan 21, 2012 at 8:57 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jan 22, 2012 at 5:28 PM CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The heartbreaking diagnosis of an 8-year-old Dyersville boy sparked an effort to help save more people facing life-threatening illnesses.

Next weekend, Eastern Iowans can donate to save more lives.

Ryan Burchard is a state champion in wrestling, he’s now determined to take down a rare form of Leukemia.

“They only treat maybe two kids a year for it in the state of Iowa, about 500 in the whole United States,” Shawn Burchard, Ryan’s father, said.

At the start of the new year, Ryan’s doctors diagnosed him with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.

“The support has been unbelievable, not just from the community of Dyersville but all around the state of Iowa, We’ve gotten cards and prayers from people we don’t even know,” Burchard said.

Now the family hopes support will continue in a different way. Next Saturday, family and friends will host a Bone Marrow Donor Registry Drive.

They say it’s an easy opportunity to find out if you are a match for not just Ryan but anyone in need.

“A lot of people think it’s a blood test or something, all it is, is a simple swab of the mouth,” Burchard said.

Eventually Burchard may need a Bone marrow transplant. If his parents and siblings are not a match, the donor marrow will need to come from someone else.

“You could have 5,000 people that come and they may never be a match for Ryan, but the more people that show up, the better chance there is not just for Ryan but for anybody else,” Burchard said.

For thousands with life-threatening diseases, a marrow transplant is often the best or only hope for a cure.

“A few minutes of your time could be a lifesaver for someone else and that’s what we are trying to get out,” Burchard said.

The drive will take place next Saturday at Xavier Auditorium in Dyersville. The event will run from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. At the drive you can join the University of Iowa Marrow Donor Program and Be The Match Registry.

To add a new member to the program costs about $100. The program relies on donations to help cover these costs.

Those joining will be asked to give what they can afford. For additional information you can call the Iowa Marrow Donor Program at (800) 944-8220 or visit bethematch.org.

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