Bone Marrow Match Drive For Peabody Girl Saturday In Saugus

PEABODY, MA — A young Peabody girl suffering from a rare immunodeficiency syndrome that requires a bone marrow transplant is getting a lot of community support on the North Shore.

Gigi D'Amore, who has Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases (MSMD), is looking for a donor match with the next drive-thru swab event scheduled for Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Saugus YMCA. Because of MSMD, D'Amore easily develops infections that are severe and last a long time.

The "Swab for Gigi" event is looking for those 18 to 44 years old to be tested as a possible match for donation. Those participating will have their marrow information put into a national database and must be willing to donate to anyone in need within the database who is found to be a match.

"We are trying to get the word out and encourage as many people as possible to register to get tested to see if they are a match as my daughter needs a bone marrow transplant," Angela D'Amore, Gigi's mother, told Patch.

Those who cannot make the event, but still want to see if they are a possible match, can text 61474 and write SwabforGigi, and a testing kit will be sent to you.

For more information, contact Ann Evans at aevans@ribc.org or 401-714-6240.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)