Calvin Pace steps up for a good cause

June, 7, 2010
6/07/10
3:10
PM ET
For a moment, let's forget about contract disputes and OTAs and knee rehabs. Let's cover a story that really matters.

Please meet Sophia Lopez of the Bronx. She's six months old and dying. She has a life-threatening blood disease and needs a bone-marrow transplant immediately.

Calvin Pace is trying to help. He wants you to help. A month ago, the Jets linebacker filmed a public-service announcement for DKMS, a group that recruits bone-marrow donors for leukemia patients. In his PSA, Pace urges people, especially minorities, to register. Minorities are under-represented in the national registry, according to DKMS.

“Sophia’s story broke by my heart," Pace said. "Her disease is so rare, and her chances of finding a matching donor are slim because she’s a minority. Everyone, regardless of their race or ethnicity, deserves a fair chance at life. Help Sophia and others like her in desperate need of a transplant. Register as a bone marrow donor. You can help her win this fight.”

In January, Sophia was diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). After finishing her first round chemotherapy, she went into remission. Her parents, Mike and Denise Lopez, began to make preparations for her baptism. In April, Sophia relapsed. She returned to the hospital for more treatment and it was determined that her only hope for survival would be a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor. Neither of her siblings are an ideal match, so they turned to the national registry. Unfortunately, her chances are compromised because of her Puerto Rican descent.

Each year, more than 140,000 people are diagnosed with a blood cancer, such as leukemia or lymphoma. Less than 30% of patients can find a match in their own family; the other 70% must search for an unrelated donor. According to the NMDP, 55% of Hispanics or Latinos in need of a life-saving transplant do not receive one and 83% of African Americans in need of a transplant to not receive one.

For more information, visit www.dkmsamericas.org. If you want to check out Pace's PSA, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xp_SAqR548.

Here's a message from Sophia's brother: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAJ2RqIG1dE. You don't want to miss this.








Rich Cimini, longtime Jets beat writer for the New York Daily News and a Syracuse graduate, covers Gang Green for ESPNNewYork.com.
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Mark Sanchez
ATT COMP YDS TD
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RUSHINGCARYDSAVGTD
S. Greene 253 1054 4.2 6
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D. Keller 65 815 12.5 5
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