How We Got Started

When Bob Corrales was told that he needed a bone marrow transplant, so many of his friends asked him, "What blood-type are you?" None of us knew that blood-type had nothing to do with finding a bone marrow match.  Everyone was surprised to learn that bone marrow has everything to do with race, ethnicity and ancestry.  Bob's match would more likely be of Chinese-Mexican decent.  Even friends working in the medical community seemed surprised by this simple fact.  We found ourselves asking, "Why isn't this common knowledge?"

When we learned that November was National Marrow Awareness Month, we knew we had the perfect opportunity to campaign for awareness, while adding more ethnically diverse donors to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry.

Who Are We

Olga Corrales, is the loving wife of Bob Corrales, who prays each day that we can find him a match.  Nancy Ullman is a friend of the family, who is driven to make a difference.  Our volunteers are not only friends, family and loved ones--many of them are compassionate individuals who have been touched in one way or another by cancer.  

Our Mission

We hope to dispel some long-standing myths about bone marrow, get the word out that bone marrow is all about race, and add many more diverse donors into the National Marrow Registry.

It Takes a Village - We Couldn't Have Accomplished This Alone

A wise woman once said "If you want to get something done, hand it to the busiest person you can find."  She wasn't kidding.  Christina Marino and Nancy Blake are two of the busiest and most impressive women we have ever met.  They have been instrumental in getting this event off the ground and we are eternally grateful for their efforts! 

             Olga Corrales and Nancy Ullman (USC Class of 1988)

Christina Marino (UCLA Class of 2005)

Christina is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center’s Hematology/Stem Cell Transplantation unit.  She received her Associates Degree in Nursing from Glendale Community College in 1999 and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University of Los Angeles in 2003.  Christina began working as a staff nurse at UCLA Medical Center in 2000.  After graduating from UCLA, with a Masters in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner in 2005, she began working as a Clinical Educator in July of 2006, and was later certified through the Oncology Nursing Society as an Advanced Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist.  She has officially been a CNS in the Hematology/Stem Cell Transplantation unit since June 2008 and loves working with this particular patient population.

Nancy Blake (UCLA Class of 1989) 

Nancy is currently the Director of Critical Care Services and Education at Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles.  She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mount St. Mary's College in 1980 and her Master's Degree in Nursing Administration from UCLA in 1989.  Nancy is a true leader in her field.  Twice nominated for Nurseweek Magazine's Nurse Excellence Award, Nancy continues to educate herself and others every chance she gets.  She has been Affiliate Faculty, at USC, UCLA, Mount St. Mary's College, just to name a few.  Her work on Pediatric Preparedness is part of FEMA's State Guidelines for the Office of Emergency Preparedness.  Besides teaching and writing, Nancy has given over 20 presentations at conferences all of the United States in subjects ranging from Leadership and Management in Critical Care to Violence in America -- When Children are Victims.  As if she is not busy enough, this fall Nancy returned to UCLA to work on her Doctorate in Nursing.  You can't miss her on campus.  She is pink and furry, has long ears and is always banging on a drum!  This woman keeps going, and going...