Former Concord resident John Kristek is doing well in his fight against acute myelogenous leukemia, so now, because of his daughter's efforts, others may win in their battle against serious illnesses.

Jessica Smith of Weare, a registered nurse at Concord Ambulatory Surgery Center, has organized a marrow donor registration drive, scheduled for Thursday from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at the surgery center. The drive is affiliated with the National Marrow Donor Program, which has a registry of millions.

Kristek, who works for a trucking company in Dallas, was diagnosed in July with a form of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. He received a marrow transplant Oct. 28, after chemotherapy treatment failed, and is feeling much better. We talked to Smith about how her father's illness has inspired her.

How long before your dad found a match? He was fortunate that it took only six weeks. It was actually an international donor. We don't know who. They don't share that information. They told him it was somebody overseas.

How long before a donor is usually contacted? Once you're in the registry, some people never get contacted and some get contacted right away. It depends on the patient, who's out there looking.

How's your father doing? He's fortunate because he hasn't suffered too many side effects from the chemotherapy and the transplant. His biggest complaint the other day was that he was bored and he wanted to go home. The poor guy has been in the hospital for a month. Prior to that he was home for a month, and before that he was in the hospital for two months with the chemotherapy.

Why did you organize this? Because we're so far away from him, I guess I needed something to focus my energy on, and I do work in health care, so it was a good opportunity to utilize our facility. I have a lot of great co-workers who are volunteering.

When will you see your father? We're hoping he'll at least be home for Thanksgiving, and we're traveling out there, my husband and my son, who's 2. That will be great.

The Concord Ambulatory Surgery Center is located at 60 Commercial St., Suite 301. Ten minutes of paperwork, plus four swabs of your cheek, are all that's required to be a donor. Call 1-800-MARROW-2 for details, or visit marrow.org.