DEAR ABBY: I am an educator with the Cord Blood Registry, responding to the letter in your column about donors needed for the bone marrow registry.

I would like to tell you and your readers about an amazing opportunity to assist tens of thousands of people in need of stem cells that used to be available only through bone marrow transplants.

Diseases like Hodgkin's lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and leukemia can now be treated with stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

The process of collecting it is painless; however, it must be collected immediately following birth. Umbilical cords are often just discarded. It is a tragedy that expectant parents are rarely made aware of the importance of their child's umbilical cord blood. It can be banked privately for their families, or donated through the International Cord Blood Foundation for use by patients who desperately require a matching transplant.

There are also special programs to help families bank the cord blood should a family member be stricken with an illness that places him or her in serious need of a transplant.

Abby, please urge families who are concerned about saving lives with umbilical cord blood to contact the Cord Blood Registry at 1-888-267-3256 (toll-free) or www.cordblood.com to learn more about banking their cord blood. -- KATIE HEFFELFINGER, CORD BLOOD EDUCATOR, BETHLEHEM, PA.

DEAR MS. HEFFELFINGER: I'm pleased to alert readers to this relatively new therapy, which became available in the late 1980s.

I was fascinated to learn that "cord blood" is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby is born. Like bone marrow, it has been found to be a rich source of stem cells -- the building blocks of the blood and immune system. Cord blood may provide treatment advantages over bone marrow, especially when it comes from an immediate family member. Saving it may prove especially significant for ethnic minority patients, and those with a family history of leukemia or cancer.

If the umbilical cord blood from all the deliveries in the United States were stored, successful matches could be found without the long, time-consuming search for a bone marrow donor.

There is no cost for public donation of umbilical cord blood, but the application and testing process must be started at least two months before the delivery. Parents wishing to store their newborn's cord blood for their own potential use can do so for a fee. However, anyone with a family member who already HAS a condition for which stem cells may be a treatment option, can store cord blood at no cost through the Cord Blood Registry's Designated Transplant Program. (For information on this option, call the number listed above.)

DEAR ABBY: I thought you might be interested in the role you played in getting my young son to read. When he was in the elementary grades, I insisted that he read the newspaper every day and find something interesting to discuss with me. Well, it didn't take him very long to find your column, and he shared it with me each day. He is grown now and loves to read your column and many other things as well. Thank you, Dear Abby. -- STELLA LEHNERT, DETROIT

DEAR STELLA: Thank YOU. I have always encouraged young people to hone their reading skills. To learn that I had a part in developing your son's reading habits is gratifying.

For those young people who may have missed my advice on reading, I repeat:

If I could give young people one piece of advice, it would be read, read, read! In reading, you will open up new worlds, real and imagined. Read for information, read for pleasure. Our libraries are filled with knowledge and joy, and it's all there -- free for the taking. The person who DOES NOT read is no better off than the person who CANNOT read.

To order "How to Write Letters for All Occasions," send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Letter Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: What's a roommate to do? My roommate, Susie, has five children. They range in age from 11 to 18. Two live with her, and three live with their father. When all five are here for a month in the summer, life is difficult.

The children who live with their father have few rules, no chores, curfews or discipline in their home. When they arrive, they are frequently rude, complaining, unappreciative, and disrespectful to their mother, their siblings and to me.

As a homeowner and single woman, I cringe when the children arrive. I know there will be no peace in my home until they leave. I worry about my pets, swimming pool or trampoline accidents, my belongings and my ability to hold my tongue.

The question: Would I be out of line if I spoke up and said, "This is what's expected of you while you are visiting in my home"?

Abby, there must be other people in situations similar to mine. What do they do under these cirumstances? -- PUZZLED IN ARKANSAS

DEAR PUZZLED: You have every right to tell the children, "These are the rules of the house, and I expect you to abide by them." You might also hand them a list such as the following:

HOUSE RULES

1. If you open it, close it.

2. If you turn it on, turn it off.

3. If you unlock it, lock it.

4. If you break it, repair it.

5. If you can't fix it, call in someone who can.

6. If you borrow it, return it.

7. If you use it, take care of it.

8. If you make a mess, clean it up.

9. If you move it, put it back.

10. If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.

11. If you don't know how to operate it, leave it alone.

12. If it doesn't concern you, don't mess with it.

Also, give consideration to increasing your household insurance to cover possible damage.

I wish you the best of luck!

DEAR ABBY: I have been a librarian for 25 years and hope you will help me get an important message out to people everywhere.

Many times when patrons approach me at the library information desk, they preface their requests with, "I know this is probably a dumb question, but ..." Abby, this always distresses me, because the fact is, most librarians love their work -- and if everyone walked into the library already knowing how to find the information they want, we wouldn't be needed!

I always tell my patrons that as far as I'm concerned, there are no "dumb" questions, and if it weren't for their asking for my help, I would be working at something far less enjoyable. So, the message is, "Please ask the librarian. We want to help you!" Thanks, Abby. -- CAROL GOODSON, CARROLLTON, GA.

DEAR CAROL: I'm pleased to convey your message. I am in complete agreement with your philosophy that there's no such thing as a dumb question. What is really dumb is remaining ignorant.

For everything you need to know about wedding planning, order "How to Have a Lovely Wedding." Send a business-sized, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Wedding Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)

DEAR ABBY: I am a 15-year-old girl who read your column about "Winning Against the Odds." I was surprised to see the names of only five women included, so I decided to add to your list of names.

You once printed a list of African Americans who were born into a society filled with heavy prejudice. Well, that same prejudice was once practiced against women. Women who wanted careers or the same rights as men were shunned. I offer a list of 10 more women who overcame various hardships:

-- Rejected by medical schools in London because of her gender, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first female member of the British Medical Association.

-- Born into poverty was author Louisa May Alcott.

-- Struck with Marfan's syndrome was Flo Hyman, who won a silver medal in Olympic volleyball. She is the namesake of the Flo Hyman Award.

-- Orphaned at age 10 was former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

-- Raised as a slave was evangelist and reformer Sojourner Truth.

-- Ridiculed, shunned and arrested for standing up for their beliefs were suffragettes Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

-- Orphaned at 13 was Oksana Baiul, Olympic figure skating champion.

-- Denied admission to most medical schools and blind in one eye was Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree.

-- Incapacitated for a decade as a result of a spinal injury and a lung ailment was Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet and feminist. -- ALISON IN FLORIDA

DEAR ALISON: My column titled "Winning Against the Odds" inspired many responses. Read on for another:

DEAR ABBY: One need not go back to Abe Lincoln or Albert Einstein to find someone who succeeded despite adversity. One need only go to the family next door, or perhaps one down the street.

There are millions of us who were born into abject poverty during the Depression, who lived on bread and potatoes, whose parents couldn't afford to send us to the dentist, who never owned a suit until we were adults, who attended a one-room country grade school with no electricity or indoor plumbing, but who still managed to learn a skill or work and complete our education. Now we live in the 'burbs and have sent our kids through college.

I've been there and done that. And it can still be done. All it takes is hard work, perseverance, and forgoing instant gratification. You have to figure out where you are going and how you are going to get there -- and stop whining and using the excuse that you are a victim. -- CALVIN S. HOLM, THIENSVILLE, WIS.

DEAR MR. HOLM: No discourtesy intended -- but you said a mouthful, Cal!

CONFIDENTIAL TO BROKE MOM'S HEART IN BATON ROUGE: Don't be so sure your mother won't forgive you. Honore de Balzac wisely said, "The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always discover forgiveness." Apologize, and explain that you have learned your lesson.

For Abby's favorite family recipes, send a long, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $3.95 ($4.50 in Canada) to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet No. 1, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, Ill. 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)