Delete Blood Cancer Holds Bone Marrow Drive to Help Howell-Born Child with Leukemia in Freehold

Fourteen year old Andrew Toussaint has been searching for a life-saving bone marrow donor since being diagnosed with mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) in October of this year. Of Haitian and English heritage, Andrew was born in Howell and now lives with his mom and younger sister while he attends Manalapan High School and is enrolled in their Law Enforcement and Public Safety Program (LEPS). Friends of the Toussaint family and the administration of local schools in their community, have taken action to bring awareness to this cause for Andrew and other patients in need of a matching donor.

The community is teaming up with Delete Blood Cancer twice over this weekend to host a bone marrow donor drive to register new potential donors for patients suffering from blood cancer and blood diseases.

“This diagnosis has turned our lives upside down. It has taken an emotional toll on our entire family,” said Melissa Burt, Andrew’s mother. “Andrew is being strong while he receives his treatment, but we need to find him a match for his transplant. We just want to give others searching for a matching donor the opportunity to live their life.”

The first registration drive will take place on Friday, December 5 from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Memorial Middle School located at 485 Adelphia Road in Freehold. The second registration drive will take place at a Run/Walk held in Andrew’s honor on Sunday, December 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Howell Middle School South located at 1 Kuzminski Way in Howell.

About 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with a blood cancer each year. Many patients can be saved with bone marrow transplants, and nearly 70 percent of patients in need of a transplant must search for a donor outside of their family to give them a second chance at life. Less than half are lucky enough to find their match and receive a transplant.

We can change these odds. Registration takes less than five minutes and consists of swabbing the inside of the mouth and filling out a registration form. Anyone who cannot attend the drive can still register and/or make a gift online at DeleteBloodCancer.org.