John J. York announced over the weekend that he is taking a break from General Hospital, and yesterday he explained why.
“So last December of ’22, I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, and multiple smoldering myeloma, two blood and bone marrow disorders. Over the past many months, I’ve had three bone marrow biopsies, many chemo treatments. I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’m closing in on a blood stem cell transplant,” the actor, 64, said in a video on social media. “I’ve been working with some wonderful people at Be The Match to find a potential donor on their registry. If it’s possible and you would consider being a donor, joining their registry, for not just me but thousands and thousands of other people who are in need of a donor, go to bethematch.org/matchformac.”
If you are between 18-40, you could be a possible donor for him or someone else who needs a blood stem cell transplant. You could save a life, and how amazing would that feel? I donate platelets every two weeks, and it makes me feel like I am doing something wonderful. So please get tested if you can.
Back to the actor, he concluded his message with, “I just want to say thanks for all the support over the years. This isn’t goodbye, this is just, ‘So long.’ I’ll have to take a break for at least three, maybe four months, but I’ll be back.”
I am sure he will be! But for now, I will be praying for him and that he gets the transplant he needs.
