Save Nergal!

So many times I have been accused of using this blog to defame, insult, berate, and slander metal band members. And while it may be true in some cases, as I feel that many of them deserve a good verbal beatdown from Yours Truly, I have decided for this one time to do some good for the metal community for a change. I have decided to use my forum to spread awareness of leukemia and to help Behemoth frontman "Nergal", aka Adam Darski, in his fight to find a bone marrow in order to cure his affliction.



Adam "Nergal" Darski, the 33-year-old guitarist/vocalist from Poland's greatest extreme-metal export, Behemoth, has been diagnosed with a life-threatening form of leukemia, a cancer of blood-forming tissues of the bone marrow. The disease, for which Adam is currently receiving treatment at the hematology division of the Gdansk Medical University Hospital, has advanced to the point where he is in urgent need of a bone-marrow transplant. (A bone-marrow transplant is when special cells, called stem cells, that are normally found in the bone marrow are taken out, filtered, and given back either to the same person or to another person.) In light of this, Darski wants to remind everyone about the need to be on the marrow registry. The more people get tested and donate, the more of a chance for life there is for him and others in the same situation.

Every year, more than 10,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma, and a bone-marrow transplant from an unrelated person is their best or only hope for survival. There is no data available on how many people die waiting for a match, but only four out of 10 patients receive the needed transplant.

The best thing we can all do right now is learn about the marrow-donation process, not only help save one of metal's leaders, but to also do the same for countless others out there struggling with the same disease. To learn more about how you can register to donate marrow, go to www.marrow.org.

Fans wanting to help out, register for the marrow program, or who have questions on running a marrow drive may contact the organization Music Saves Lives by e-mail at iCare@musicsaveslives.com or by visiting Music Saves Lives online at www.musicsaveslives.org.