Rick Bellinson; Sought Bone Marrow Match

Rick Bellinson of Sherman Oaks, whose family embarked on an unsuccessful public campaign to find a bone marrow donor to help save his life, has died at the City of Hope in Duarte. He was 35.

Diagnosed during his senior year at UC Berkeley, Bellinson suffered from lymphoma for more than 11 years. He died Saturday, said his father, Bernie Bellinson.

In January, 1989, when the cancer took a turn for the worse and invaded about 25% of Bellinson’s bone marrow, the Bellinson family united family and friends to publicly seek a marrow donor. The odds of finding a matching type were 20,000 to 1. Their plea was publicized through newspaper articles and on television and radio.

Over 3,200 responded and were tested in 1989 at clinics and hospitals throughout Los Angeles County. No suitable bone marrow donor was found. The $75 tests were paid for with money from a fund-raising basketball game between the Los Angeles Raiders and Grant High School Alumni and a community picnic with a raffle drawing.

Bellinson was born in Detroit and came to California in 1956, when his family moved to Culver City. Since 1961 the family had lived in Sherman Oaks. He was a business major at UC Berkeley.

A service was held Tuesday at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park for 750 people. Arrangements were handled by Mt. Sinai Mortuary. Donations can be made to the Rick Bellinson Memorial Fund for Cancer Research, c/o Leon Pink, Wells Fargo Bank in Encino.