Posted in: Comics | Tagged: BälSäc the Jaws 'o Death, dkms, GWAR, HRL

GWAR's BälSäc The Jaws 'O Death Seeking Bone Marrow Transplant

Michael Derks, better known as GWAR guitarist and comic book star BälSäc the Jaws 'o Death (he's the guy with the bear trap on his head), has launched a virtual donor page on DKMS.org. Derkis is suffering from myelofibrosis, a rare condition that scars the bone marrow and, if untreated, is ultimately fatal. Derkis is planning to undergo a bone marrow transplant, which has a 15-30% mortality rate, to extend his life.

He writes:

"This summer while I was out on the Warped tour, I began to experience extreme fatigue and weakness. Eventually it got to the point where the people around me insisted that I go to the hospital. I was treated for severe anemia, but extensive testing did not reveal a cause. When I got home, my hemoglobin levels continued to fall and the only course of treatment has been a series blood transfusions to keep my red and white blood cells from dropping to dangerous levels. I went for further testing at the Massey Cancer Center at MCV and the doctors there have diagnosed me with myelofibrosis, a disease that causes scarring inside of the bones and interferes with the marrow's ability to produce blood cells. If left to run it's course the doctors say I am most likely to only survive another 3 to 5 years. There is a treatment with a chance of curing my condition, a bone marrow transplant. This procedure involves destroying my diseased bone marrow with high doses of chemotherapy, and then replacing it with healthy marrow from a donor. I will hopefully have the transplant early next year. I will spend a month in the hospital and then at least a year in recovery, where my immune system will be practically non-existent. The procedure has a mortality rate of 30%, but the Massey Center has brought this down to around 15%. With my family's help and the support of my friends, I will beat this."

While the donor page does accept monetary donations that go toward helping DKMS register more donors, the primary purpose is to get willing bone marrow donors to register so that they might be called upon when someone needs a transplant.

Bone marrow donation is a relatively risk free procedure, aside from the regular dangers of anesthesia. Less than 5% of a donor's marrow is typically taken during a donation, which regenerates within a few weeks. Donors signing up on DKMS will be sent a swab within 7-10 days to use and send back to DKMS in order to figure out which recipients they will be compatible with.

If you're interested in signing up, head over to the donor page.

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