Family Seeks Bone Marrow Donor for 5 Year-Old Boy

The  ends Thursday, which leaves you one last day to enjoy a beer or some zeppole, and also help a little boy stricken with a terrible disease.

Local residents are searching for a bone marrow donor for a 5 year-old boy named Jake, who was recently diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anemia, a rare but serious medical condition in which a person's bone marrow stops making enough healthy blood cells, putting that person at risk of life-threatening infections or bleeding. About 1,000 Americans of various ages and ethnic backgrounds are diagnosed with the disease each year.

Jake needs a bone marrow transplant. So far however his doctors have been unable to find a match. Even Jake's parents, who used to live in Hoboken, do not match closely enough for a transplant.

Thus Jake's parents, with the help of friends in Hoboken, are asking for anyone and everyone to take a swab test inside the cheek to see if they could be a donor match. The test is simple, painless and takes only seconds.

There are two testing stations in Hoboken on Thursday, one at the St. Ann's festival from noon to 11pm, and the second at the bar from 6 to 10 p.m. The bar is offering a free pint to everyone who takes the swab test.

For more information on Jake's plight and on Severe Aplastic Anemia, visit this website his family has launched. Good Morning America recently profiled Jake and his family, and you can watch the video segment here.