Suburban Man To Ask Congress For More Funds For Bone Marrow Program
(CBS) -- A northwest suburban man will travel to Washington D.C. in a couple of weeks to encourage Congress to continue funding for an organization that has proven to be a lifesaver.
Ron Oppedisano of Norridge was diagnosed in 2010 with leukemia, a blood cancer. Prospects for survival did not look good and Oppedisano says his last option was a bone marrow transplant.
He says the National Marrow Donor Program Be The Match found his match--a then-21-year-old woman from the Houston, Texas area, Samantha Seals Nielsen.
He received her bone marrow in 2013 and says his leukemia is in remission.
The National Marrow Donor Program received $23 million in the past year and is looking for an additional $4 million for next year.
Oppedisano says if he hadn't had the transplant, he "would not have seen any of my three grandchildren born…walk my second daughter down the aisle at her wedding….and basically enjoy life. I enjoy life every day."