ABMDR flag waved atop Mount Ararat
Ararat Dream Team climbers include three ABMDR donors
Los Angeles, August 9, 2013 – August 1, 2013 became an unforgettable day for the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR) as a team of mountain climbers, including ABMDR donors, took the organization’s flag to the summit of Mount Ararat, in a gesture of pan-national support for the registry’s life-saving mission.
The 11-member Ararat Dream Team scaled Mount Ararat as part of a journey through Georgia and Western Armenia. Headed by Harut Der-Tavitian, the team included three ABMDR donors: Hratch Lukassain, Ashot Manukian, and Hayk Manukian.
On its way to Mount Ararat, the Ararat Dream Team passed through Javakhk, Georgia, and visited Tmbka Fortress, where it attended the Vahan Teryan Day celebration, hosted by the Vahan Teryan Museum. The team also visited the ruins of Ani.
Following the arduous climb up Mount Ararat, team members held the ABMDR flag high as the jubilant moment was captured on film.
The Ararat Dream Team also traveled to Lake Van and held a celebration on Akhtamar Island.
Subsequently the ABMDR flag, which was signed by the team members, was brought by the ABDMR donors to the registry’s Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan, where the lab staff congratulated the donors for having completed their remarkable journey.
“We were so very moved by the enthusiasm of the Ararat Dream Team and especially the participating ABMDR donors, who had the ABMDR flag, which we consider a wonderful symbol of pan-Armenian altruism and collaboration, wave on the summit of Mount Ararat,” said Dr. Sevak Avagyan, executive director of ABMDR.
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The ABMDR flag being waved on the summit of Mount Ararat.
The ABMDR donors at the registry’s Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan. From left, Hratch Lukassain, Hayk Manukian, and Ashot Manukian holding the ABMDR flag, which was signed by members of the Ararat Dream Team.
The ABMDR donors with the staff of the registry’s Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Yerevan.
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All photos courtesy of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry.