IN OUR PRAYERS: Friday Is Robin Roberts’ Last Day at GMA + How You Can Become a Donor
Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 11:52AM 
By EEW Magazine News Staff
Robin Roberts’ last day at Good Morning America is Friday Aug. 31 before she begins an extended medical leave to treat Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). MDS is a rare blood disorder that affects the bone marrow.
Her doctor is scheduled to appear on GMA tomorrow, Aug. 29, to discuss Roberts’ treatment and recovery process. Remarkably, she was blessed to discover that her sister, Sally-Ann, is her perfect match.
But many are not so fortunate.
According to "Be the Match,"seventy percent of patients don’t have matching donors in their families and need to find an unrelated adult donor, or cells from donated umbilical cord blood. The program has more than 9.5 million potential donors and nearly 165,000 available cord blood units.
There is a need for more donors on the registry.
To join, a person needs to be between the ages of 18 and 60, willing to donate and meet health guidelines. To register, a health history form needs to be filled out and a swab of cheek cells needs to be performed. To find out more about donating and sign up for a registration kit from the Be the Match Registry, click here.
Roberts, who is receiving lots of love and support from the GMA viewers that love her dearly says, "I can't imagine getting up and not being here" at work. But she realizes that she has plenty to be grateful for through it all. "I am blessed because 40% of Americans can't even take a sick day," she noted. "I know I'm going to have a job when I come back."
Everyone will be eagerly awaiting her return.
Watch the video below of Roberts talking about her upcoming leave.
Thoughts?
Reader Comments (1)
She's such a positive person. I love her spirit!! God bless you on this journey, Robin! Get well soon!!