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A member of the Pittsburgh community, fifteen-year-old Amy Katz, is fighting leukemia. Amy's Army exists to find a bone marrow donor for Amy, and in the process help others to find their matches.

Amy's Army Bone Marrow Screening Drives have been very productive!

PPG drive - March 27, 2007Pittsburgher's turned out in droves on March 27, 2007 to help Amy's Army net 810 new donor registrations. The all-day screening drive lasted from 7:00 am until after 7:00 pm.

Most people reported that they spent a total of 5 to 10 minutes filling out forms and using the special cotton swabs to collect the DNA samples from the inside surface of their cheeks.


The 150 plus volunteers of Amy's Army and the Katz family are completely overwhelmed by the fantastic turnout at the Donor Screening at Temple Emanuel on February 29, 2004. About 1,800 people came to add their names and blood samples to the National Bone Marrow Registry. Many were surprised that they were in and out the door in less than 20 minutes.


When you add the 275 people who were tested at the December 2003 Gift of Life drive and the 413 people who were tested at the May 29 HLA Registry drive and the 1143 names added on October 20 at the Downtown drive to the number of people who are registering at the countless blood drives, Amy's Army can say that we have added over 7,000 names to Bone Marrow Registries.


View a list of almost 100 marrow drives and blood drives Amy's Army has conducted so far.

 

 

 

 

 


Media coverage

- Amy's Army makes advances in donor search
By Andrew Johnson
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Thursday, March 22, 2007

- Thon lives on with MarrowThon II
By Kate Maloney
The Collegian at Penn State
Friday, Feb. 23, 2007

- Army still on the march hoping to cure Amy
By Virginia Kopas Joe
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, September 22, 2005

- Marrow-Thon's goal is matching donors
By Rachel Loeb
The Digital Collegian -
Monday, Feb. 28, 2005

- Honoring Our Ancestors - Please Join Amy's Army
by Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak
Ancestry Daily News
February 24, 2005

- Volunteers sought for Amy's Army
By Kim Lyons
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Monday, December 27, 2004

- Singing the praises of noble deeds
By Dennis Roddy
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Saturday, December 25, 2004

- Marrow-donor search to benefit others
By Linda Wilson Fuoco
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Tuesday, November 23, 2004

- Amy's Army Grows
By Linda Wilson Fuoco
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Please visit our In the News section to see some of what the press had to say about the phenomenon that Amy's Army has become. You can read newspaper articles and watch TV news video coverage that we have archived on this page.


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Who is Amy’s Army?

Amy's Army has registered
over 8,000 people...

at drives held
in 12 states...

and 22 marrow donors have been found for other patients looking for a match.


But none so far for Amy.


Amy’s Army is a devoted group of volunteers dedicated to finding a stem cell donor who can help Amy get well again. As we search for her perfect match we also enlarge the ranks of the National Bone Marrow Registry, thereby helping thousands of others like Amy who are also searching every day for their perfect match.


All About Amy


Amy Katz in 2003

Many of you have asked how Amy is doing. Right now she continues to respond to her medication and is doing well in school, participating on the high school crew team as a coxswain and hanging out with her friends. We hope that the medication keeps working and holding her leukemia at bay.

Knowing the treatment is not a cure...we continue to search for her donor. To all of you that have taken the time to learn about the National Marrow Donor Program and become donors, we are eternally grateful. Please continue to pass the word onto others to help Amy and others like her in need.

In 2003, Amy was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). CML is a type of leukemia that is rare for a child her age. The only known cure for her cancer is a stem cell transplant. Her doctors have searched the worldwide registry for a stem cell donor and have failed to find a match. But the search continues and your blood might contain the right type of blood stem cells that could help Amy or many others just like her who are also searching for a donor match.

Amy is currently fighting the leukemia with a new form of chemotherapy. She volunteered to participate in a worldwide study for this drug because as she said, “it would help other kids”.

You can help Amy and thousands of others who are searching every day, just like her, for their own donor matches. Click here to read how.


Amy chosen as Patient Hero by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Amy and her family have been actively involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the Pittsburgh Area. Amy has been chosen as the Patient Hero for two of their programs: Kicks for Cancer and Team in Training. Please visit these Web sites to learn more.

 

 

people have visited this site since January 1, 2004.

 
 

Toll-free :: (877) AID-4-AMY
E-mail :: info@amysarmy.org