Annie Yonashiro makes sure her clients at Salon Nanea know about gels and sprays and hair products, but they get a lesson in biology and philanthropy as well.

"All the people who sit in my chair, they all know about bone marrow," she says.

Yonashiro has been a volunteer for the Hawai'i Bone Marrow Registry since before there was a Hawai'i Bone Marrow Donor Registry. Sixteen years ago, a classmate from Hilo High class of 1972 was diagnosed with leukemia. Friends rallied to help start a bone marrow donor registry in Hawai'i. Yonashiro and attorney Wes Fujimoto, a Hilo High classmate, got involved. They've been doing fundraisers such as formal dinners, tennis tournaments and fashion shows for the Hawai'i Registry ever since.

"Every now and then when I'm cutting Wes' hair I'll say, 'Hey Wes, let's do this, or let's do that.' "

This year, the fundraiser she and Fujimoto are organizing is called "The Miracle in You."

"The theme for the national dinner was '20,000 transplants, 20,000 stories'," she marvels. "Can you believe that?!"

The miracle of the registry is that strangers sign up to save the lives of people they don't know and may never meet. The further miracle is that, despite race and heritage, sometimes the most mismatched people are a perfect match. It says a lot about the human race. It says a lot about the better part of human nature.

At the dinner this weekend, the highlight of the event will be when a bone marrow donor and recipient will meet for the first time on stage. Yonashiro describes the donor as a "local guy." The life he saved is that of a 4-year-old girl from California. Her whole family is coming to say thanks.

Yonashiro's husband, Roy, is the donor recruitment coordinator for the Hawai'i Registry, but she's been volunteering there even longer than he's been working there.

"So far since the registry opened, we've had 216 people from Hawai'i who have become donors for people all over the world," she said. "In fact, our brochure is so cool because we have the map of the world and it shows where all the bone marrow from Hawai'i people have gone. It's really neat to see how far it's gone and to know it really works."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.