Bone Marrow Registry Drive in Presque Isle to Find Match for Two-Month old Brylee Gagnon

Residents of Aroostook County tend to come come together and do their best to help when someone is down on their luck, and that's the thing I love the most about living in the County.

The Aroostook Medical Center has teamed up with Be The Match in order to help a two-month-old baby girl named Brylee Gagnon, who is suffering from a life-threatening illness. Brylee is in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Brylee Gagnon was born at TAMC on August 8 to Shandi Page and Chad Gagnon of Presque Isle.  When she was ten days old, she was rushed back to the Presque Isle hospital with a fever of 104 degrees. From there, she was taken by LifeFlight to Eastern Maine Medical Center, where she spent nearly a week in the neonatal intensive care unit. It was there doctors determined Brylee had a serious infection in her blood and gastrointestinal tract.

Brylee was transferred to Portland to meet with a pediatric gastroenterologist. She spent the next month in the hospital to be certain the infection was completely gone.  It was during her hospitalization that doctors diagnosed her with leukocyte adhesion deficiency, a rare disorder that affects the body’s immune system.

According to the family, doctors have given Brylee an 80 percent chance of recovery if she gets a transplant. But so far, no donor has been found.

That's why TAMC and Be The Match Registry will host a donor registry drive on Monday, October 21st to raise awareness about the need for marrow donors, and to hopefully find a matching donor for Brylee.

Area residents age 18-44 are encouraged to take the first step to save a life by joining the Be The Match Registry at TAMC’s North Street Healthcare Facility between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. this coming Monday.

For more information, call 768-4044.

Help out if you can!