by Kelly Rogge
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa is sponsoring a Bone Marrow Registration Drive Nov. 19 on the KCKCC Main Campus.
This drive gives those individuals between the ages of 18-55 who are serious about wanting to save a life, a chance to register as a potential bone marrow donor.
The registration drive is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Wed., Nov. 19, in Lower Jewell building on the campus, 7250 State Ave. The drive is sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa.
Blood cancer is the second leading cause of all cancer deaths in the United States and kills more children than any other disease. Many patients can be saved, however, with a bone marrow transplant – that is if they can find a matching donor.
Registration is free, fast and simple. Individuals who are at least 18-years-old and no more than 55-years-old and in good health can complete a brief registration form to be considered. A swab test from inside the mouth will also be conducted. The whole process should take less than 10 minutes.
Donors and patients should share at least eight HLA tissue characteristics to be considered a good match. There are more than 7,000 known HLA types that occur, making finding a potential donor difficult. The more donors who register, the greater chance a match will be made. After the registration process, the donor’s information will appear on a national registry. Once on this registry, indivudals must be willing to donate to anyone if there is a match. Information will remain on the registry until 61-years of age or until it is removed.
If selected, a representative from Delete Blood Cancer will be in contact to obtain further health-related information. Additional testing will also be completed to determine that you are the best possible match for the patient in need. The actual donation will be in the form of a peripheral blood stem cell donation or a marrow donation.
For those who wish to participate, but are unable to attend the registration drive, registration can also be completed online at deletebloodcancer.org. Delete Blood Cancer is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world, working to defeat blood cancer.
For more information on the Bone Marrow Registration Drive or to volunteer, contact Stacy Tucker, director of Honors Education-Phi Theta Kappa at KCKCC, at 913-288-7239.
Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at KCKCC.