Philadelphia native Michael Brecker is one of the most expressive, celebrated jazz saxophonists of his generation. Musicians ranging from Paul Simon to Frank Sinatra, from Quincy Jones to Herbie Hancock, featured him on their albums. After a career that included over 900 albums and more than a dozen Grammy awards, he died at age 58 from a bone marrow disease known as myelodysplastic syndrome.

Under normal circumstances, bone marrow makes blood stem cells that go on to differentiate. First, the stem cell will either become a lymphoid, which eventually develops into a white blood cell, or a myeloid. The myeloids can mature into red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets.

In the case of a myelodysplastic syndrome, the blood stem cells can’t go through their normal maturation. Instead, they die while still in the bone marrow. There are fewer of all types of blood cells. To add insult to injury, the dead cells can take up space in the marrow, so there is less room for the healthy blood cells to develop.

Blood is important. Blood cells are important. Healthy blood cells are very important. The red ones carry oxygen throughout the body, the white ones fight off infections, and the platelets keep you from bleeding to death by forming clots.

To treat a bone marrow disease like myelodysplastic syndrome or leukemia, the way to jumpstart the production of healthy blood cells is through a bone marrow transplant. For Michael Brecker, it was impossible to find an appropriate donor among the national list of ten million. Being Jewish made it especially difficult to find a genetic match, since such large part of the Jewish population was lost during World War II.

African Americans also have difficulty finding a matching bone marrow donation. The consequences are astounding. For example, their mortality rate of leukemia is nine times higher than that of Caucasians, due to a lack of bone marrow donations within the black community.

Herbie Hancock, a friend of Brecker’s, said, “Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.”

Despite his virtuosity, Michael Brecker is not a household name. Apparently he hated attention. However, shortly before his death he agreed to use his national reputation to hold bone marrow drives, on the condition that they were specifically for African Americans in North Philadelphia. Breckner said of fellow jazz musicians, “They [could] have as great a need as I do…” It didn’t seem fair to him that he had a better chance of finding a matching donor.

This year’s bone marrow drive will be held on Wednesday, April 26th. Potential donors will have their mouths swabbed, and will be contacted if they have been matched with someone who needs a bone marrow transplant. The drive will take place in North Philly at the Norris Homes Community Center, on 1915 North 11th Street by Temple University.

Bone Marrow Drive
The Norris Homes Community Center (1915 N. 11th St.)
Wed, 4/26/08

Image Credit: Flickr user Rubin Pulido