Former IU Law School Dean Makes Plea On Behalf Of Professor Henry Karlson

William Harvey, a retired law professor and former dean of the IU School of Law-Indianapolis, is making a plea on behalf of Henry Karlson, a fellow retired law professor. Professor Karlson is gravely ill with myelodysplastic syndrome (MSD), an aggressive pre-leukemia disease. Professor Harvey is seeking potential bone marrow donors to help Professor Karlson in his battle. Harvey explains in a plea issued to members of the Indianapolis Bar Association:

My specific request is this: Join the Be The Match bone marrow registry. Thousands of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases depend on the Be The Match Registry® (formerly known as the National Marrow Donor Program) to find a match to save their life.


The Indiana Blood Center is the Donor Center/Recruitment Group for the state of Indiana. IBC registers potential volunteer bone marrow donors into a large database that is searched daily by patients in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. Be The Match is a national registry, which means you must be willing to help anyone who needs a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. However, if that time comes, certain options are available to you then.

Most patients are unable to find matches within their own families and therefore concentrate their search in this national registry. In 2009, more than 12,000 searches were conducted through the Be The Match Registry for a matching donor.

Because Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) typing is inherited, patients are most likely to match someone of their same race or ethnicity. The more uncommon a person's HLA type, the more difficult it is to find a match. The Indiana Blood Center and the Be The Match Registry are working together to expand the Registry to improve all patients' chances of finding a donor.

This is not a blood donation or an invasive procedure. It is a Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) test. It is simple. It is fast. It is critical.

Joining the national registry is easily done. All it takes is some paperwork and a simple Do-It-Yourself Buccal/Cheek swab. If you go to the Indiana Blood Center at 3450 No. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 please contact Melissa Levy at 317-916-5110 to set a time for your visit, or ask that an information/registration packet be sent to you.

There is an alternative to calling her at that phone number. You can make contact through mlevy@indianablood.org You can join "at your office" because an information/registration packet will be mailed directly to you. The test is easily conducted. Simply follow the enclosed instructions and, when completed, return the registration packet to the Indiana Blood Center in the package enclosed for that purpose.

Please make sure to mention Professor Henry C. Karlson's name when you request a packet!


The total cost to add members to this lifesaving registry is $100. As a non-profit organization it relies on public support to offset the cost of enrolling and typing new members. It does not require that donors cover the entire cost of joining the Be The Match registry, but it is imperative that they have your help to raise the necessary funds so more registry members can be added and save more lives. The Indiana Blood Center asks that each person who participates in the registry drive help reach the fundraising goal of $52 per donor. All fundraising donations are tax deductible and 100% of each contribution is dedicated to adding more members to the national registry.

If you want to join for one particular person, that can occur. The Indiana Blood Center has a lab for that and its number is 317-916-5237. I think the cost for private testing for one individual is much more than $52.


Unfortunately, there are disqualifications. One of the most common is age. Donors must be between the ages of 18 - 60 years old in order to register with Be The Match. I am well above 60 years of age-well above 70 for that matter.

However, I know a group of outstanding attorneys in the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society (easily, the finest organization of its kind in the United States). I shall happily contribute sufficient money so each one can choose to become a registrant without cost.

For Professor Henry C. Karlson, this is the time, this is the day, and this is the hour of need-of desperate need.

I plea-no, I beg that you assist him.

Professor Karlson and his family are dear friends. Please help out if you can and keep him in your prayers.