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U.S. Postal Service Employee Meets Man Who Saved His Life

Posted on: Thursday, 15 March 2007, 09:01 CDT

WASHINGTON, March 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- No organization, public or private sector, has volunteered as much as the U.S. Postal Service by delivering the "gift of life" with more than 30,000 employees joining the National Marrow Donor Program(R) Registry. On March 14, at a special ceremony on Capitol Hill, a marrow recipient met the man who saved his life. In this case, the marrow recipient was Postal Service employee Richard Tate, who received a life-saving marrow donation.

"The United States Postal Service has a strong tradition of helping in the communities we serve," said John E. Potter, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Postal Service. "By participating in the Delivering the Gift of Life campaign, our employees increase the effectiveness and outreach of this life-saving program. We're proud to support this important initiative."

In 1986, Richard Tate, a 21-year Postal employee from Wilmington, Del., was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a slow-growing cancer of the white blood cells. At 39, Tate was given just two to three years to live and was immediately placed on the marrow transplant list. Despite his prognosis, Tate surprised doctors and endured 11 years of treatment.

"Getting the diagnosis was very emotional, it was hard getting my 'death sentence' but my family and postal family were very supportive," said Tate, currently a retail sales associate. "It wasn't until 1997 when I was notified a match was found and I would be receiving a marrow transplant. If it weren't for this transplant, I would not have been able to enjoy my four grandsons."

In 1997, the Postal Service joined forces with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), The Marrow Foundation and 3M, forming the Delivering the Gift of Life campaign. The campaign builds awareness of the need for unrelated volunteer marrow donors. More than 30,000 Postal employees have joined the NMDP Registry through the campaign, and more than 60 have made life-saving marrow donations.

"We are most grateful to the United States Postal Service for adding more than 30,000 employees to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry," said Jeannie Howe, Interim President, The Marrow Foundation. "This is an extraordinary occasion and more patients will now have a second chance at life, thanks to the commitment of the Postal Service."

Michael Bonner, Tate's donor, joined the registry in Miami, Fla., and was notified just six months later that he was a potential match. "I was surprised how soon it all happened, some people never come up as a match or are on the registry for years," said Bonner, marrow donor and FBI agent. "The whole process was much easier than I thought; knowing what cancer patients go through really humbled my experience. Donating was no sacrifice for me -- it was virtually painless and I was back to work a few days later."

While more than 30,000 Postal employees are currently on the registry, the number keeps growing. NMDP and its partner The Marrow Foundation help people who need a life-saving marrow or blood cell transplant by connecting patients, doctors, donors and researchers to the resources they need to help more people live longer and healthier lives.

Marrow and blood cell transplants are a life-saving treatment option for patients with diseases of the blood and immune system, including leukemia, lymphoma and certain genetic disorders. It is estimated that more than 35,000 children and adults with life-threatening diseases each year could benefit by marrow or blood cell transplants. The NMDP facilitates more than 3,200 transplants annually, and has provided more than 25,000 patients a second chance at life.

Any person of any race or ethnicity who is 18-60 years old and meets donation health guidelines can become a potential volunteer donor. To learn more visit http://www.marrow.org/ or http://www.themarrowfoundation.org/.

An independent federal agency, the Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation -- 146 million homes and businesses -- six days a week and also has 37,000 retail locations. It relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. USPS has annual revenues of $73 billion and delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume.

U.S. Postal Service

CONTACT: Melissa Dodge of U.S. Postal Service, +1-202-268-5188, cell:+1-202-360-1552, melissa.l.dodge@usps.gov

Web site: http://www.usps.com/http://www.marrow.org/http://www.themarrowfoundation.org/

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire

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