11-Year-Old Blood Disease Survivor Meets Lifesaving Bone Marrow Donor
In October, an 11-year-old blood disease survivor had the chance to meet and thank her lifesaving bone marrow donor on stage during DKMS’ 18th Annual Gala in New York City. In 2023, Brooklynn St. John from Kansas was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, and doctors informed her family that a bone marrow transplant was her best chance at survival. Thanks to Marino client DKMS, a match was quickly found in Justin Bradshaw, a paramedic and father of two young boys from Texas who went on to donate his bone marrow to Brooklynn.
During the Annual Gala, which raised $4.7 million to advance the organization’s critical mission, Brooklynn and her mother expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Justin, not only for saving her life but giving her the opportunity to flourish as a healthy and vibrant middle school student. To amplify the special moment and encourage people to register as potential donors with DKMS, Marino pitched and secured media coverage that was picked up by nearly two dozen local media outlets across the country:
MCPHERSON, Kan. (KWCH) - An 11-year-old girl from McPherson with a rare disorder had the opportunity to meet the man credited for saving her life.
Growing up in McPherson with her siblings, Brooklyn St. John’s childhood became far from carefree when she was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia.
“I was feeling sick and I was feeling tired, like it was hard to move,” Brooklyn said.
Brooklyn’s mother, Riki Phillips explained the diagnosis that pinpointed what was happening to her daughter.
“Basically, your bone marrow stops creating blood cells (and) platelets, and your body runs out of blood,” Phillips said.
With the life-threatening diagnosis, Brooklyn’s best chance of surviving was a bone marrow transplant. The opportunity for the much-needed transplant came with a match quickly found in 36-year-old Justin Bradshaw. Bradshaw recalled the process he went through from deciding to be a donor to his chance to save a life...