12-Year Old Savanna's Smile Wins Over Hundreds of Bone Marrow Donors

Savanna acts for a cause in the Masque Community Theater

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. JULY 21, 2007. Savanna Morrow organized a bone marrow drive for a baby Ethan when she learned about his story through her church. Baby Ethan, a five month old child that lives a thousand miles away, captured her heart and spurred Savanna to help in any way she could.

Twelve-year-old Savanna Morrow proves it doesn't take a big person to do big things. Now she's planning on combining her two passions: Acting and Fighting Leukemia. On Saturday, July 21, 2007, Savanna and her cast members from Suessical the Musical will host a national bone marrow drive at the Masque Community Theater in Temple Terrace, FL.

"I just feel like so many people help me succeed in things I do," Morrow said. "I just want to give back a little bit and help him."

Knowing that she couldn't do this alone, Savanna encouraged her mom, Christy, to help organize a bone marrow drive. Since she first heard about Ethan, Savanna has organized two bone marrow drives and is currently working on a third.

In addition to the drives, Savanna has stuffed and mailed more than a thousand letters addressed to Oprah, trying to get national attention for a baby Ethan and childhood leukemia. Ethan is not the only child Savanna is trying to help. Blood cancers, such as leukemia, are the most common disease children die of in the U.S. An estimated 115,000 new cases of leukemia and lymphoma are expected in 2007. As a group, leukemias account for about 25 percent of all childhood cancers and affect about 2,200 American youth each year.

"I have never met this baby but was touched by his big blue eyes and the faith that his parent's had in God." I have since become involved in trying to encourage as many people as possible to be tested to become bone marrow donors to save children's lives," states little Savanna in a letter to the pastor at Idelwild Church in Lutz, FL. She's hoping to hold a donor drive at this church with a congregation of over 10,000 members.

"I just want them to know that even though we are young and small, we can still do so much to help, even though we may not think of it," Morrow said. "But, really, if you just take a second, find something that really needs someone, hey, who knows, maybe it could be you and you could make a difference."

A bone marrow test consists of a few cheek swabs or of taking a teaspoon of blood to determine the DNA tissue characteristics. Those tests will go anonymously into the national registry. Morrow is eager to find out if one of them matches baby Ethan and other children like him.

Saturday, July 21, 2007, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Masque Community Theater on 8825 N. 56th Street in Temple Terrace

About DKMS

The DKMS New York office opened this year as the U.S. branch of DKMS, a German-based non-profit organization founded in 1991, which maintains the world’s largest bone marrow donor database with 1.5million registered donors. It has supplied more than 10,000 transplants since its founding. DKMS stands for Deutsche Knochenmarkspenderdatei, or German Bone Marrow Donor Center in English. The New York office will help meet increasing U.S. demand for bone marrow transplants.

To learn more, visit www.dkmsamericas.org, call 1-866-340-DKMS (3567) or send an e-mail to info@dkmsamericas.org.

To learn more about Savanna visit: www.myspace.com/smiles_from_savanna.