{"id":482,"date":"2012-02-07T16:50:53","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T21:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nmc.edu\/?p=482"},"modified":"2012-02-07T16:53:32","modified_gmt":"2012-02-07T21:53:32","slug":"be-the-match-marrow-donor-registery-drive-on-campus-february-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nmc.edu\/?p=482","title":{"rendered":"Be The Match marrow donor registry drive on campus February 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Northern Michigan College students, faculty, and staff will \u00a0have a unique opportunity to become lifesavers on Wednesday, February 8<\/strong>, when the college is hosting a \u201cBe The Match\u201d \u00a0marrow donor registry drive from Noon to 6 p.m. in the lower level of West Hall on NMC\u2019s campu<\/strong>s. Staff \u00a0from Michigan Blood\u2019s Marrow\/Stem Cell program, which is affiliated with the Be The Match Registry of the \u00a0National Marrow Donor Program, will conduct the special donor registry drive.<\/p>\n

Any person between the ages of 18 and 60 years old may be eligible to become a prospective marrow donor. \u00a0Donors will be asked to fill out a form for contact information, provide a brief health history, and then provide a
\nblood sample for tissue-typing, which is required for all prospective donors. \u00a0To encourage students to join the Registry at the Northern Michigan College drive, Michigan Blood will
\nwaive the $25 fee that prospective donors normally are asked to pay to help cover the costs of tissue-type \u00a0testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonors between the ages of 18 and 44 are ten times more likely to be chosen as matches for patients who need \u00a0transplants,\u201d said Kona Kenny, Be the Match representative at Michigan Blood. \u201cThese donors generally have
\nmore active stem cells and their donations are more likely to be accepted by the patient\u2019s body. We want to \u00a0educate young people about the need for marrow donors, and also provide special opportunities, such as this \u00a0event at Northern Michigan College, for them to join the Registry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each year approximately 35,000 Americans are diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia or any of \u00a060 other life-threatening diseases that potentially can be treated with marrow transplants. Of that number, about \u00a010,000 become transplant candidates but only about half are able to receive the possibly lifesaving procedures \u2013\u00a0and fewer than 1,000 are likely to have a family member who can provide a close tissue-type match. The Be The \u00a0Match Registry helps meet the need for unrelated marrow donors by providing an international database of \u00a0prospective donors.<\/p>\n

Learn more about marrow donation<\/strong><\/p>\n