WESTFIELD – Westfield State University will host a bone marrow typing drive tomorrow from noon to 3 p.m. in the Parenzo Hall Gymnasium.
Class of 2015 student Lauren Monsiegneur organized the drive, along with the help of Health Services staff member Patricia Berube.
After a close family friend of Monsiegneur was diagnosed with leukemia, her mother ran a bone marrow typing drive for the friend’s family in her hometown of Windsor, Mass. The drive was sponsored by the “Be the Match” registry and campaign. Monsiegneur was so inspired by “Be the Match” and her mother’s actions that she decided to run a donor typing drive for the Westfield State community.
“As soon as I found out someone from my hometown was in need of a bone marrow transplant, I wanted to do whatever I could to help,” said Monsiegneur.
“Be the Match Registry” is a non-profit organization that is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). The organization was founded by Robert and Sherry Graves after their ten-year-old daughter Laura was diagnosed with leukemia. They agreed to try the first-ever bone marrow transplant in 1979, and after it was successful, they made it their mission to help other patients like Laura. Within the first year, NMDP had more than 10,000 people willing to donate. Today, it is the world’s largest hematopoietic cell registry, and since its inception in 1986 it has facilitated more than 68,000 transplants.
Every year in the United States, there are 18,000 people between the ages of birth to 74 that could benefit from a bone marrow or umbilical cord transplant. Donors are found based on tissue type and the chances of being a donor are 1 in 540. It only takes between one and five-percent of a donor’s bone marrow to save a patient’s life.
“We hope to increase awareness of the need to volunteer. There are thousands of patients waiting and hopeful for a bone marrow match to save their lives,” said Berube.
A simple cheek swab is required to find out if someone is a possible donor. People must be between the ages of 18 and 44 and be free of hepatitis, heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, among other things. Once a donor is matched, he can donate one of two ways: a peripheral blood stem cell donation, or a surgical bone marrow transplant.
“Having the opportunity to work with ‘Be the Match’ is a great way to involve the community in an effort to save the lives of those suffering from this terrible disease,” Monsiegneur said.
