Sharon Chambers sought a match for her grandson. Her family's efforts have helped 20 people get transplants
ROCHESTER — A retired Rochester nurse and her family received an award for their efforts in getting thousands of people to register as potential bone marrow and blood stem cell donors.
NMDP, the national bone marrow and blood stem cell transplant organization formerly known as Be The Match, presented Sharon Chambers and her family with the NMDP Grow Award on Saturday, Nov. 9.
"I was dumbfounded," Chambers said. "But I'm also delighted because ... it symbolizes that other people got to live."
The family had rallied around Ari Chambers-Baltz, Chambers' grandson. Ari had been diagnosed with hyper IgM syndrome, an inherited disorder that severely weakens the immune system. When Chambers and her husband, Dr. Craig Chambers, wanted to travel to Carbondale, Illinois, to see Ari and his parents, they would isolate for a week beforehand to prevent bringing a cough, cold or other infectious disease with them.
Ari needed a bone marrow transplant in order to have a properly functioning immune system. So, Chambers and her family spent the spring of 2023 holding more than 30 NMDP registration drives across the region, mostly on college campuses like the University of Minnesota Rochester, the U's Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, Rochester Technical and Community College and Winona State. They also held events at Apache Mall and Autumn Ridge Church in Rochester.
"I think we swabbed almost 5,000 people," Chambers said, referring to the swabs used on the inside of one's cheek to send genetic data to the registry for matching.
In May 2023, the same month he turned 2, Ari matched with a donor. He received his bone marrow transplant in June at the U of MN Children's Masonic Hospital in Minneapolis, but in the weeks and months afterward, he battled a viral infection. Ari died on Aug. 12, 2023.
"David Kessler said ... in time, you move further away from the pain and toward those joyous memories," Chambers said. "The pain never goes away, but you move further away from it, and that, to me, is comforting."
Despite Ari's death, the impact of his family's work continues. Of the 6,000 people who have signed up through the Miracle 4 Ari initiative, NMDP confirmed that, so far, 20 have gone on to match with a patient and donate bone marrow or blood stem cells to them.
Those who matched with a patient include three people who signed up at the Apache Mall drive, one Winona State student, a UMR student and a UMD football player.
"It's bittersweet, but we're ecstatic that these other people's lives have been saved," Chambers said, "and that the local community rose to the occasion."
Jamie Margolis, a senior vice president at NMDP, said the Chambers family is one "example of creating a huge ripple effect of selfless service."
"At NMDP, we have the privilege to witness the best of humanity every day when we meet selfless blood stem cell donors who say 'yes' to giving a patient a second chance at life," Margolis said. "What's even more remarkable is bearing witness to family members or patients who passionately dedicate time and energy in the face of one of the hardest experiences imaginable."
In the time since Ari's passing, his parents welcomed a baby girl named Charlotte. Chambers said six-month-old Charlotte doesn't carry the gene mutation that causes hyper IGM syndrome.
"She's growing and she's healthy, and it has eased their pain," Chambers said of Ari's parents. "Not replaced Ari, but it has eased their pain."
