Los Angeles Firefighter Turns to Colleagues to Help Son

As part of an effort to help his young son, a Los Angeles City firefighter is spearheading a push to find a bone marrow donor that could save his boy's life.

Jesse Sackaroff, 7, suffers from aplastic anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder, and his dad—firefighter-paramedic Roger Sackaroff, who works out of Fire Station 63 in Venice Beach—has been trying to find a compatible blood stem cell donor that could help lead to a cure. So far, no matches have been found among family members.

That's why Sackaroff has been reaching out to the firefighting community and urging first responders to join the Be The Match Registry. A cheek swab is all that's needed to register, and the hope is that Jesse—or a similar patient—will be helped by expanding the possible donor pool.

"You guys know how hard it is to save a life. We’ve all signed up to save people’s lives. … What I’m asking you to do today is going to save somebody’s life, and it’s super easy,"  Sackaroff said in a statement urging people to register.

Anyone interested in registering can request a swab kit by going to the Be The Match website.or by texting "CUREJESSE" to 61474.

NOTE: Since this article's original publication, Roger Sackaroff contacted Firehouse.com News to clarify details about the process. After receiving a registration kit from the website, participants would swab their cheek and then send it back to the registry.

People only would be contacted if they matched a patient in the registry. In some cases, a blood donation might be all that's needed. In other cases, people might be asked to undergo a procedure to draw bone marrow, Sackaroff said.