Richter's 7-year-old son, Gregory, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001. Though Gregory is now cancer-free and didn't need a bone marrow transplant, Richter says having potential marrow donors on the rolls is always important. "These kinds of things are always done when somebody's dying. But by the time a patient needs a marrow transplant, there's only a 30-percent chance that a relative is a match. Seventy percent of the time, it comes from a stranger," he says.

One of the several dozen Cisco employees who signed on to help with this marrow drive is Lorenz Redlefsen, who served as a marrow donor in 2003. "I registered with the database in 1999 when my friend was diagnosed, and all it took was a blood sample," he says. "In March of 2003, my phone rang." Redlefsen, whose friend recovered from leukemia, matched an anonymous patient after a number of tests and agreed to donate.

While bone marrow donation itself has a reputation for being a painful procedure, Redlefsen had a different experience. He donated through a process called apheresis, which he says makes up the majority of current marrow donations. Blood taken from one arm is cycled through a machine to remove peripheral blood stem cells, and the blood is returned to the other arm through a system of needles and tubing. He says his only discomfort was due to taking Neupogen, a drug that stimulates stem cell growth.

"It gives you flu-like symptoms. My wife said I was cranky," he says with a laugh.

His stem cells were used to produce bone marrow, which was then transplanted into the ailing patient. Redlefsen still doesn't know who that was or whether the person recovered.

He says he heard through the grapevine about the marrow drive, and decided to volunteer. About 20 Cisco employees will be helping on the day of the drive that Richter and others set up with the help of the American Red Cross. Healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60 can register at the marrow drive, which requires a simple blood sample. The registry also asks for two contacts, with full addresses and phone numbers.

"You never know when they'll find a match, and the potential donor may have moved by then," Richter says. "Gregory didn't need [a marrow transplant], but we can see the need for a drive."

Richter is a manager at Cisco, where employees are encouraged to donate time and effort to charitable causes. "I was talking to my team about various ideas, and this had always been at the back of my mind," he says.

After diagnosis, Gregory entered a course of chemotherapy that lasted for two years and seven months. He officially ended treatment in April of this year, but had several complications pop up along the way. Last fall, Gregory ended up in the pediatric ICU after experiencing an extended seizure. His parents were told his situation was "touch and go"—a frightening phrase to this day, Richter says.

Today, Gregory is a healthy second-grader at Stratford School, where he excels at math. "Most people probably couldn't tell," his dad says. "He never lost all of his hair."

The Friends and Family of Gregory Marrow Donor Registration Drive takes place on Nov. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Sunnyvale Community Center's Heritage Center Building, located at 550 E. Remington Drive. For more information, call 408.235.1535 or visit www.marrow.org.