It was ironic. For 24 years, Irene Jackson had worked as a nurse’s aide in the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit at Roswell Park. In 2005, she would become a patient on that same unit after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.

“I was shocked to hear the diagnosis after all those years of taking care of patients. But I didn’t get depressed or cry but offered my prayers of healing to the Lord,” said Irene.

A blood and marrow transplant offered Irene a chance for a cure. For a transplant to be a success, the tissue type of a bone marrow donor needs to match the patient’s as closely as possible. Special testing determines whether a patient and a bone marrow donor are a good match. The closer the match, the better for the patient.

But Irene had no surviving brothers or sisters to provide her with a healthy suitable match. And because tissue types are inherited, patients are more likely to match someone from their own race or ethnicity. So, her doctors sought and found an anonymous donor through the National Marrow Donor Program, even though only a small percentage of the 6 million volunteer donors are people of color. He was a young man about 20 years old and was a perfect match for Irene.

“I told my family, friends and members of my church not to worry. I will be healed. I walked in here and I am going to walk out of here and I did just that,” she recalls. Irene has special words of warmth and love for her fellow nurses who cared for her during her time as a transplant patient. “The nurses were wonderful to me. It is a great hospital. Today, I am healed and free of cancer.”

Irene is retired now, lives with her son and is active in her church. She would like to encourage people of color to volunteer to become blood and marrow donors as they too could save the life of someone in need of a transplant.

Irene’s message of hope for the holidays: “Trust your doctors, follow their recommendations and always have faith in God.”