By John Few
Madison Magazine

With Christmas just days away the thoughts of a child’s mind is certainly running wild, filled with bikes, computers, toys, anything and everything they can hope to see under the tree. But what AJ Revera wants for Christmas won’t fit in a tree or a stocking. He will never be able to play with it, hold it and toss it around.

What this 8-year-old Madison youth wishes to have this year is help finding a donor for the thousands of children who need a bone marrow transplant.

This has been a crazy year for AJ to say the least. A student at Horizon Elementary, a fall in March led doctor’s to discover that AJ needed aa bone marrow transplant.

“We were actually very fortunate compared to others. We had a little time to prepare and find a donor. Other cases are not that fortunate,” AJ’s mother, Cindy, said.

A little over a month later the Revera’s found their match. It was AJ’s younger brother Austin. The procedure took place July 27, but it would two months before AJ could come home.

Now AJ wants to do something for the other children at the hospital he met that were waiting on donors. For the past weeks, he and his family have made it their goal to get 100 potential bone marrow donors signed up on the national registry.

“I wanted to do this because I met several other children while I was in the hospital that didn’t have the matches for a donor that I did. So, I thought if I could get more people on the registry it would help them,” AJ said.

“I was lucky to have a sibling match, but some people do not have matches in their family. That’s why it’s important for people to sign up.”

The Revera’s have created a way that people can sign up online. To do it, you go to join.marrow.org/ajchristmaswish and follow the directions. A few days after signing up online, you will be mailed a packet to complete and swabs for your checks. Just mail it and you are on the registry.

“It’s that easy,” said Cindy. “There is usually a fee, around a $100 to do this, but for anyone signing up by the end of the year it is totally free.”

So far AJ has 69 people signed up.

“My brother is only 5 years old and he did,” says Austin. “He said my life.”

AJ also wants to remind anyone wanting to help that it only counts once the packets have been completed and sent back.

“It’s very simple,” said Cindy. “But, it can save a life.”