Perspective and Any Thing Goes - Photoshop

Share Your Gift With the World
I chose to place an image of a marrow donor-- an image from the NMDP website www.marrow.org-- on top of an image of the globe, creating perspective by decreasing the image size (using the free transform tool) and adjusting the color of the image (using the warming tool). I struggled with this as I am very new at this Photoshop stuff. I think the image--at its best-- could represent that your gift of life (a marrow donation) could travel the globe to save a life.

Background

^ Original sunrise photo.

^ Original donor exchange photo.

I chose to place an image of a marrow donor and marrow recipient embracing in the forefront of a sunrise. I think it makes for a symbolic image: a sunrise is the start of a new day ... a transplant -- the start of a new life.
In fact, marrow recipients, when asked how old they are, may tell you they are the age in years equivalent to their days/months/years post-transplant. Example: a 45 year-old man who received the gift of life (a marrow transplant) seven years ago, would be 7 years old.

The National Marrow Donor Program

http://www.marrow.org/ABOUT/indexHTML (Copyright 2008 National Donor Marrow Program)

The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) oversees the world's largest registry of marrow donors, The NMDP Registry of Donors.

Each year 35,000 Americans are diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by bone marrow or cord blood transplantation. Only 30 percent will find a life-saving marrow donor match within their family. On any given day 6,000 men, women and children search the Registry for an unrelated marrow donor match-- and a second chance at life.

Click here to learn more at www.marrow.org.

The Bone Marrow Foundation

The Bone Marrow Foundation is another great resource for bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients.  The foundation provides educational, emotional and financial support for patients, their families and friends.

The foundation is meant to be a "starting point" for patients who are to undergo transplantation: to learn facts about transplantation, to learn how to cover the crushing financial aspect of transplantation and how to cope "emotionally" with transplantation.

The Bone Marrow Foundation provides frequently asked questions regarding transplantation, facts about transplantation, connects patients with post-BMT and stem cell transplant patients, and provides "direct financial aid" to transplant patients to help alleviate the astronomical financial strain transplantation can place on an individual and their family.

BMT Info Net

BMT infonet is exactly what its name eludes it to be--a "blood and marrow transplant (BMT) information network".  This site provides resources for undergoing and surviving bone marrow transplantation, providing site visitors with both educational and emotional support. 

[Available resources include:   resources directory, a directory of transplant centers, news updates on transplantation,  a drug database, books on transplantation, etc. ] 

BMT infonet also connects BMT patients with BMT survivors, as well as refers patients and survivors to financial institutions to help individuals understand the costs of transplantation [which can be extreme] and demonstrate how to raise/collect the money necessary to have the sufficient funds for pre- and post-transplantation expenses.

NTAF

National Transplant Assistance Fund & Catastrophic Injury Program (NTAF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that assists transplant and catastrophic injury patients in fundraising for their uninsured medical expenses.

NTAF is Celebrating 25 Years of Service October 2007 through October 2008.

Support NTAF's celebratory initiative "Save a Life" -- a year-long commitment to educate and register 250 potential marrow donors to the NMDP Registry of Donors.

To learn more about the NMDP Registry visit the NMDP website www.marrow.org.

To learn more about NTAF and our Save a Life Initiative visit the NTAF website www.transplantfund.org.