The 30,000 USPS employees who have joined the National Marrow Donor Program Registry exceed all organizations — public or private sector. To mark this commitment, a special ceremony on Capitol Hill recently featured a first-time meeting between a marrow recipient and the man who saved his life.
But this time, it was a USPS employee who received a life-saving marrow donation.
In 1986, Richard Tate, a 21-year Postal Service employee from Wilmington, DE, was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. He was placed on the marrow transplant list. Doctors said Tate had two to three years to live.
But Tate endured until 1997, when a donor was found. “If it weren’t for this transplant, I would not have been able to enjoy my four grandsons,” Tate said.
Michael Bonner, Tate’s donor, had been on the registry just six months before he learned he was a potential match. To learn how to become a donor, visit www.marrow.org or www.themarrowfoundation.org.
