Courtesy Sacramento Bee

(April 13, 2010) When every day at work ends with an emotional win or loss (mostly losses, recently), it's nice to come home to someone bouncy every night.

For Jason Ross, one of the Sacramento Kings broadcasters, respite comes from his son, 7-year-old Jackson Ross.

Jason Ross hosts the Kings' pregame, halftime and postgame radio shows. He's also the sports director for KHTK (1140 AM).

The late-night hours, thousands of screaming fans and the burn of a losing season can make Ross' job hectic and stressful. But he says coming home after the games to give Jackson a hug puts the chaos into perspective.

Jackson has faced foes mightier than the Los Angeles Lakers.
He was born with leukemia and spent the first few months of his life receiving treatment. At 3, he suffered a series of seizures that took away his ability to talk. And in October, Ross and his wife, Alva Toca, learned that Jackson was fighting a different form of leukemia. His chances of survival were very slim unless he got a bone marrow transplant.

This week, the family is at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center while Jackson undergoes preparation for a bone marrow transplant he is scheduled to receive April 22.

That Jackson will have a transplant of healthy marrow just six months after being diagnosed is lucky – and rare.

Marrow recipients need donors with the same tissue type – someone with similar genetic makeup. Family members are the most likely matches, followed by people in the same racial group.

Matches can be difficult to find – especially for racial minorities and biracial people. Caucasians account for more than 70 percent of the nation's 7 million-person bone marrow registry.

Toca is black and Ross is white.

Somehow, the couple say, Jackson was matched with three potential donors.

It bothered them, though, to learn how hard it is for minorities to find bone marrow donors, and they vowed to help.

Through radio promotions, Ross has put out calls to Kings fans to join the national bone marrow registry.

At a recent Kings-Lakers game at Arco Arena, he appeared on television, describing what his family was going through.

His appeal touched fellow broadcaster Gary Gerould, who said: "Jason, that stuff gets you right here," gesturing at his heart.

Toca – petite and forceful and a former KHTK advertising saleswoman – put her selling skills to use, asking every minority person she saw at the Kings-Lakers game to consider doing it.

Three Kings players and 100 other people signed up at the game.

"I don't think it's because minorities aren't willing to do it; I think it's because there's a lack of knowledge," she said. "It's a simple swab of the cheek, and you can save a life."

Jackson is now house-bound because of the leukemia. On a recent afternoon, the chubby-tummied 7-year-old simply would not tire of playing with toy that popped a colorful ball out of a chute. He grinned every time the plastic ball popped up again, chasing after it with enthusiasm.

A creature of habit, Jackson likes to watch Pixar movies over and over, and he takes pleasure in daily romps in the back yard. He looks healthy and seems carefree.

Toca and Ross say seeing the way Jackson handles his illness inspires them to worry less about the small things.

"People say to me, 'I don't know how you do it,' " Toca said. "But really, he's the one who wakes up with a smile every day. I don't think he has ever been in a bad mood."

Through it all, Jackson smiles. Toca partially attributes this to her son's Down syndrome, which she said makes many children good-humored and able to handle chemotherapy better.

At UCSF Medical Center, Toca sleeps with Jackson, and Ross is commuting between Sacramento and San Francisco. Soon, he will start spending nights in San Francisco, switching between taking time off and working out of a Bay Area studio.

If all goes well, Jackson will come home in two months. But Toca and Ross aren't forgetting about the plight of other minorities who need a bone marrow transplant; they are looking to get big-name NBA players involved.

Jason and and Jackson Ross make good spokesmen for this cause. Father and son are dopplegangers, both round-featured and jovial.

Jackson has no inhibitions around people and is a charmer, prompting people to take photos of him with their phones.

He goes through life blissfully, pausing every so often to throw a ball backward (his signature sports move, his parents say).

His parents think he will make a good soccer goalie.

"There could be tons of complications, but it could go great," said Ross. "And we're hoping to have another 30 years with Jackson."

WHERE TO REGISTER AS A DONOR

Visit www.bethematch.com to order a cheek swab kit, which you can do at home and mail back.

Alternatively, you can visit a BloodSource location. Visit www.bloodsource.org or call (866) 822-5663 to find locations.HOW TO BECOME A BONE MARROW DONOR

• The process starts with paperwork and swabs taken inside the cheek of a potential donor.

• If you match a patient, you will be contacted for further blood testing and a health screening.

• If you are deemed the best match, there are two methods of donation. The first, PBSC (for "peripheral blood stem cells"), is nonsurgical. Donors are given injections for five days to increase the number of blood-forming cells in their bloodstream. Blood is then removed from the arm. The second method, marrow donation, is a one-hour, outpatient surgical procedure. Donors are anesthetized and doctors withdraw marrow from the back of the pelvic bone. No bone is removed, and there are rarely long-term effects from donating, according to Be The Match. Marrow donors can expect to feel fatigue, some soreness and pressure in their lower back. They are usually back to normal activities within seven days, and the body replaces the donated marrow within four to six weeks.

• Potential donors must be between ages 18 and 60, be in general good health and be willing to donate to anyone in need.

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