Bone marrow drive for Miami lawyer yields hundreds of would-be donors
Eighty people lined up outside the Miami office of GrayRobinson on Tuesday to be tested as possible bone marrow donors for a partner recently diagnosed with leukemia.
The law firm is using social media in an effort to find a donor for partner Philippe Devé, the Daily Business Review (sub. req.) reports. Other GrayRobinson offices were also holding bone marrow drives this week—and the firm is not alone in searching for a donor. Other law firms have also held drives, the story says, including Hinshaw Culbertson and Meland Russin & Budwick.
Devé’s physician found nothing amiss during the lawyer’s annual physical about a month ago, his law partners told the Daily Business Review. But last weekend, the 51-year-old lawyer went to the emergency room after experiencing intense neck pain and night sweats. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, which can quickly kill if left untreated. His chances of finding a match are only about 1 in 50,000, according to an email from GrayRobinson partners.
GrayRobinson partner Marlene Quintana said hundreds of people from around the country volunteered to be tested as potential donors for Devé, an only child with elderly parents. “People who don’t even know him or us signed up to be tested,” Quintana told the Daily Business Review. “I have been humbled and astonished by the kindness of strangers.”
