TO ALL NON-HOUSTON RESIDENTS

Update: March 27, 2008

To all the friends of John Wilson:

REGARDING BLOOD / PLATELET DONATIONS

There has been a miscommunication between MD Anderson, John’s family, myself, and all of you. The last email I sent requested that all that were able to donate platelets to John please so as there is a shortage and John is in need. I also provided contact information for the American Red Cross as to finding a local facility to donate and passing credit on to John. There was a misunderstanding of how the system works and what I was asking is not possible.

First, American Red Cross, LifeSource, or any other donation facility will not do or have in place any credit program that will benefit John. My assumption was American Red Cross would help those looking find a facility, they could donate, John would receive the credit and the blood/platelets that he needs. As some of you have found out not only is this not possible, the American Red Cross is staffed with very unhelpful and somewhat rude individuals; I apologize for referring you to them.

Second, platelets are not shippable. In simple terms, they have a short shelf-life and are usually donated in the same facility or close to the facility that the recipient is located. Therefore, my original request for the friends of John Wilson to donate platelets to benefit John is also not possible. Going along with this; if you know anyone in the Houston area that can donate platelets they can donate through MD Anderson and those platelets will go directly to John when they provide his patient information. This is how his aunt and sister were able to donate the other day. Please pass this along to anyone you know in the Houston area, in know from our contact list that the friends of John Wilson reach far beyond the Chicagoland area.

I have been in contact with a representative from the blood bank at MD Anderson, she has seen the Johnsfight.org website and the last email that I sent to everyone. She made the effort to contact me by phone to explain the available program and options for blood donation that will benefit John. She was very impressed with all of our efforts and the support behind John. There are some individuals that have already pledged to start working on a blood drive, I have contacted one individual and we are gathering information to create a Johnsfight.org / John Wilson Blood Drive. More information will be released when available.

On a positive note, I have received several emails that say the people they spoke to at American Red Cross have commented on receiving A LOT of phone calls from individuals that want to donate blood or platelets to help John Wilson, to the point where they were annoyed by it. This shows the true strength of the friends of John Wilson.

For anyone that has donated or attempted to donate I apologize for any inconvenience this may have cause but we are working on a program or event that will, this time, benefit John.

Thanks for all your continued efforts, your responses, and your time. More information about how to help will be released when available.

--
Jim Roth
The Friends of John Wilson
Johnsfight.org