Michael and Christina Guglielmo’s son, Giovanni, was born in July of 2006.

Five months after his birth, he was diagnosed with a rare illness called NEMO. There had only been 62 confirmed cases of the disease worldwide, of which 11 of those cases were reported in the U.S.

NEMO is an x-linked chromosomal disorder that can cause mild to severe defects to some of the body’s major functions. In Giovanni’s case, his immune system was completely compromised.

Doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital told the Guglielmos that the only hope for Giovanni’s survival was a bone marrow transplant, and if he received a transplant, there was still only a 50 percent of survival.

“They told us that the odds of finding a [bone marrow] match were one in 20,000,” said Guglielmo. “So I told them that I’ll just have to put 20,000 people in the transplant registry.”

Guglielmo did that and more.

Guglielmo, a resident of Belmont, NH, immediately began the campaign to save his son by posting fliers wherever he could, creating a website, and generating news coverage. Soon, bone marrow drives were being held in 11 states and even in Italy, which was the first time a drive had ever been held in the country. The pope even issued an Apostolic Blessing to Giovanni, to which Guglielmo said, “Wow, that’s cool.”

All of Guglielmo’s support and funding for the drives came from DKMS Americas, which is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world.

“Since 1991, DKMS has gotten two million people in the donor registry and found 19,500 matches,” said Guglielmo. “We couldn’t do anything without them.”

Two months after the inception of the search, a cord blood match, which is obtained from the umbilical cord at the time of childbirth, was found for Giovanni. The transplant was performed and his life was saved.

“Giovanni’s doing wonderful now,” said Guglielmo. “The bone marrow drives we’ve held inspired 32,000 people to donate and 20,000 matches so far.”

One night in the fall of 2006, UNH students Lynette Boutin and Sarah Leonard were talking together in their room about how they could make a difference on campus. They were soon put in touch with Guglielmo.

“We were just talking about something we could do,” said Boutin, a junior psychology major. “We soon got in touch with Mike and he was very excited to work with us.”

Meanwhile, Marianne Fortescue, Coordinator of the Office of Community Service and Learning, received a phone call from Michael about holding bone marrow drives on the UNH campus on the fifteenth anniversary of her own transplant.

“I thought, ‘how did this happen?’” Fortescue said. “Lynette and Sarah already had something in the works, they had heard about Giovanni. It all just happened at once.”

From there, Giovanni’s Team was formed and became a recognized student organization on campus with the support of Guglielmo, Fortescue, and DKMS. The team has since held eight bone marrow drives and has registered 500 potential donors. Its first match was found in junior Amira Kabbara last year and a successful transplant was recently performed, potentially saving a 60-year-old man’s life.

Guglielmo said he was very happy to find out about UNH’s first bone marrow donor.

“It was fantastic,” said Guglielmo. “It’s a wonderful thing. She [Kabbara] wasn’t at all apprehensive. It’s so rare, a real blessing.”

Giovanni’s Team will be hosting a bone marrow drive at the Feb. 27 men’s ice hockey game at the Whittemore Center, where, according to Fortescue, the organization hopes to gain at least 1,000 more potential donors.

“I think it’s an attainable goal,” said Fortescue. “We’re committed and President Huddleston is completely on board with it.”

Fortescue said that she feels people are apprehensive to become potential donors because they don’t understand the process. She said that if they did understand how simple it is, more people would be willing to do it.

“I think a lot of people are scared,” said Fortescue. “We try to help people understand that it might hurt, but you can save a life.”

Both Fortescue and Guglielmo said that they have been impressed with the work that Giovanni’s Team has done so far and continues to do.

“People should know they are one of the most committed groups on campus,” said Fortescue. “It’s Lynette’s mission. It would be great for more to join her.”

Guglielmo said that what they are doing is a blessing.

“They’re saving lives,” said Guglielmo. “It’s God’s work. How else can you describe it? Giovanni’s Team saved a life. We’re grateful to have them.”

Although the team’s co-founder, Leonard, has graduated, Boutin continues to commit herself to the cause and has been happy with the results.

“It’s really gratifying to know that something that you started has gotten the results that it has,” said Boutin.

For more information visit http://helpgiovanniguglielmo.org/default.aspx or http://www.dkmsamericas.org/

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