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Jada Bascom Foundation
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Real Stories

Meet Our Heroes

These are the patients who received transplants, the donors who gave the gift of life, and the advocates helping spread the word about bone marrow donation.

Each card gives the story in a sentence; the full story is on its own page.

Last updated

Painted illustration of a firefighter in a dark, smoke-filled stairwell, seen from behind with one hand raised, beckoning faceless figures down toward a lit doorway below.
FDNY Engine 28 · 1959–2011
In Loving Memory

Roy Chelsen

“I want to get out of this building.” — Roy Chelsen, FDNY oral history

Roy Chelsen helped fellow firefighters escape on September 11. Years later, his search for a marrow donor became a public appeal to help others.

Read Roy Chelsen’s story
Jeana Moore with Torsten Huber during her European walk
Founder & Grandmother
Advocate

Jeana Moore

"In our ordinary, everyday lives, we don't understand the urgency families are feeling. But some man in Germany was willing to give for a little girl to live." — Jeana Moore

A stranger in Germany was baby Jada's only marrow match. Her grandmother, Jeana Moore, turned gratitude into a cross-continent mission.

Read Jeana Moore’s story
Trooper Renee Padgett put missing kids on the sides of trucks, then fought multiple myeloma — and asked the world to join the bone marrow registry.
Bone Marrow Registry Advocate · Fallen Hero
In Loving Memory

Trooper S. Renee Padgett

“It was hard to separate 'Renee' from the 'Trooper.'”

Trooper Renee Padgett put missing kids on the sides of trucks, then fought multiple myeloma — and asked the world to join the bone marrow registry.

Read Trooper S. Renee Padgett’s story
Torsten Huber with Jada, reunited years after the transplant
Cancer Free
Patient / Recipient

Torsten and Jada

"Of course I registered to help somebody. I'm really glad that I could help Jada." — Torsten Huber, Jada's donor

At one month old, Jada was diagnosed with AML. A stranger five thousand miles away in Germany — Torsten Huber — became her match.

Read Torsten and Jada’s story
Jacob Michael Hess hero, bone marrow donor, Marine Sgt.,
Fallen Hero
In Loving Memory

Jacob "Jake" Hess

“He wouldn't send his wife somewhere he wasn't willing to go.”

A Marine who saved a stranger's life with bone marrow before making the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.

Read Jacob "Jake" Hess’s story

Know a patient, donor or advocate whose story belongs here? Tell us about them.

Join the bone marrow registry

Become a Potential Match

Joining a registry can make you available as a potential match for a patient who needs a transplant. JBF helps you find the official registry that serves your country.

Join through NMDPFor people who live in the United StatesLive somewhere else?Find Your Registry
The flyer: STOP BLOOD CANCER set in tall letters over a dark plum page, a quote, and a QR code beside a text-to-join line for the U.S.One standing face of the table tent: the same headline and quote on the left, a large QR code on the right.

Take it off the screen

Print it. Put it where people already stand.

A coffee counter, a church foyer, a break room, a race table. Every sheet carries the code that opens Jeana’s walk, and a number to text for anyone who would rather not scan — no app, no wifi, nothing to hand back.Every sheet carries the code that opens Jeana’s walk — nothing to install, nothing to hand back. The number to text printed beside it is for joining NMDP, which registers people who live in the U.S., its territories and the freely associated states. If you live anywhere else, find your country’s registry.

Everything else for running a drive

Rather be the one at the table?

Host a registration drive at your school, work or place of worship, raise funds, or lend a skill. Tell us what you have in mind and we will help you plan it.

Ways to volunteerHost a registration drive