Edward Newnam, 66, will meet his bone marrow donor for the first time at the Duke Adult Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program's Patient Reunion on June 21.

Newnam received a bone marrow transplant in October 2005 to treat Myelodysplasia, a disorder in which bone marrow does not function normally and produces an insufficient number of normal blood cells.

For 11 years, the program has arranged for one patient to meet their transplant donor each year at the reunion. This year Newnam will speak at the event about his experience and meet his donor from Las Vegas, Nev.

After learning that each of his three brothers was not a match for the transplant, Newnam's doctors at Duke found a donor through the National Bone Marrow Association Program.

"I think it's remarkable that people get involved with this program," Newnam said.

A Wake Forest resident and retired information systems manager, Newnam, still enjoys working with computers and keeping up with the new advances in technology. It was through e-mail that he first corresponded with his donor.

"We have communicated through e-mail, but we have never met," Newnam said. "I am looking forward to meeting him."

"I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him. Sometimes that is hard to imagine, but it's true."

This year's Patient Reunion marks the largest expected turnout in the event's history with 136 transplant survivors committed to attending the event.  Survivors attend the event with their families and share their experiences since transplant.

Nelson Chao, M.D., director of the Duke Adult Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program, started the patient reunion when he first came to Duke. "I wanted to provide an opportunity for patients to come back to Duke and celebrate with other patients and doctors," Chao said.

The Duke Adult Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program was established in 1984, when Duke began performing autologous transplants. The program was expanded in 1996 to include allogeneic transplants. The program's multidisciplinary team of more than 70 dedicated professionals creates individualized treatment regimens designed to meet each patient's unique needs.

Schedule of events:

Millennium Hotel
2800 Campus Walk Drive
Durham, NC

9:30 am - 10:00 am        Registration & Light Refreshments
10:00 am - 10:45 am         Breakout session for Patients
                        Breakout session for Families & Friends
10:45 am - 11:45 am        BMT Research and Treatment Update
                        Guest Speaker: Cristina Gasparetto, MD
11:45 am - 12:00 pm        Group Picture
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm        Lunch
12:30 pm - 12:45 pm         Robert Newnam (former patient) to speak
12:45 pm -   1:00 pm        Murray Archer (Robert Newnam's donor)
1:00 pm -   1:45 pm        Open Mic to discuss positive experiences since transplant