A Letter From The President

Dear Friends,

Do you know that approximately 100,000 Americans die each year from blood clots? Your support can Brian Robinson help NBCA reduce this statistic drastically by informing patients and healthcare providers about the signs, symptoms and treatments of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).

Those of you who are NFL fans likely know that Brian Robison is a defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings. Strong, athletic and in the best shape of his life, 25-year-old Brian was shocked one morning, when, after a big game, he noticed that his leg had “swelled up,” a common sign of DVT. Fortunately, the Vikings’ team doctor recognized that Brian’s symptoms suggested a blood clot, and ran a variety of tests that detected two clots in his leg. Brian and his wife Jayme were understandably stunned when they realized the severity of his DVTs, which required immediate surgery. Had Brian not sought medical attention, his clots could have travelled to his lungs which are fatal in one out of three individuals.

Brian was wise to get his leg checked out right away and fortunate that his doctor recognized the signs of Brian Robinson and Jayme his potentially life-threatening blood clot. He continues to play professional football today and looks back on his blood clots as an “eye-opener,” not only for himself and Jayme, but for the community as a whole. As Brian puts it, “I want to help raise awareness and tell people that they need to pay attention to their bodies whenever they sense that something isn’t quite right. Don’t wait and expect symptoms to get better - get in and get things checked out.” Wasted minutes can mean the difference between life and death from blood clots.

Brian’s story is one of hundreds of thousands each year, and it continues on a positive note. NBCA wants to make sure that as many blood clot stories as possible end like Brian’s - with an outcome of early recognition, quality healthcare, and renewed life. Your donation makes more positive outcomes likely and enables NBCA to continue the progress we made in 2009:

StopTheClot™ Forums – supporting patients, families and healthcare providers
StopTheClot™ Community Outreach – producing and disseminating materials for prevention and risk assessment
StopTheClot.org – exceeding our goal of nearly 275,000 web visits as of October 31, 2009
Stop The Clot™ Education – developing online curriculum for health professionals (available early 2010)
NATThlete Program – uniting athletes, couch potatoes and everyone in between to spread awareness

This holiday season, please contribute to NBCA’s vital mission to prevent, diagnose, and treat blood clots and clotting disorders through research, education, support and advocacy. NBCA thanks you for your past, present and future donations to help us succeed in our goal to Stop The Clot™. Our best wishes to you and yours for a healthy 2010.

Sincerely,

Randy Fenniger Signature

Randolph B. Fenninger

President

To donate by check, please click here to print the NBCA donation form and mail your contribution to:

National Blood Clot Alliance
120 White Plains Road, Suite 100
Tarrytown, NY 10591

Tel: (914) 220-5040
Toll free: (877) 4 NO CLOT (466-2568)

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Help Us Fight This Silent Killer - Help Us Stop The Clot®

Why should you care about thrombosis and thrombophilia?

Because the lack of awareness about blood clots and their complications is startling – even among health professionals.
Because no one is immune. You’re at risk if you’re male or female, young or old. You’re at risk if you have blood running through your veins!
Because the mortality and morbidity rate from blood clots is so high, no doubt someone you care about is dealing with their serious consequences.

Why should you contribute time or money to fight blood clots?

Because the real tragedy is that we could save significant numbers of lives if we could educate the public and train health professionals more fully. Blood clots are relatively easy to treat but relatively hard to diagnose.

Even though specialized knowledge about thrombosis and thrombophilia has mushroomed in the past decade, it is still not accessible to many healthcare providers on the front lines. This means that countless patients are being deprived of timely and accurate diagnoses and optimal treatments.
Volunteer. We need your expertise… Now!

As grassroots organization, volunteers are vital to our operations. As a volunteer, you may serve on the fund raising, education or communications committee or on the medical/scientific advisory board.

If you are a healthcare professional, we can use your help with outreach and with regional presentations.

Interested in organizing a NBCA event in your community? If so, we look forward to working with you and providing support. Give us a call at 877 4 NO CLOT.

Donate and help us launch a national wake-up call to Stop The Clot.

Please give generously to support NBCA's mission. Your donation goes directly towards funding education, awareness, treatment and support. By contributing you will help us to:

educate patients at Stop The Clot patient Forums,
assist patients at Stop The Clot Support Groups,
establish our comprehensive Clotting Information Resource Center (CIRC),
distribute educational brochures
produce Webinars
develop a curriculum for nurses and non-physician healthcare professionals about blood clot prevention.

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