SNMA's Bone Marrow Drive

Posted: February 27, 2008

When: March 12, 12:00-5:00 p.m.

Where: E202 Fee Hall, MSU campus, E. Lansing, MI

Uzoma Azuh was a 23-year-old Wayne State University School of Medicine student looking for someone to help save his life. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, Mr. Azuh underwent 8 rounds of chemotherapy until a matching bone-marrow donor could be found for a transplant. Unfortunately Uzoma passed before a match was found.

Other patients like Uzoma are still looking for people whose tissue type matches their own so they can receive a second chance at life. Please sign up to join the NMDP Registry of volunteer marrow donors. If you are ever found to match a patient in need, you could save a life.

It’s easy to join the NMDP Registry!

You must be between the ages of 18-60, meet the health guidelines, fill out a form, give a small cell sample using a simple mouth swab, and be willing to donate to any patient in need.  That’s it!

For information, please contact Eric Trosko at the National Marrow Donor Program at (517) 337-2980.

Interesting facts:

• Some patients are unable to find a match because they have less common tissue traits.
  
  
• Because these traits are inherited, a patient’s most likely match is someone of the same heritage. The groups of individuals identified by the National Marrow Donor Program for focused recruitment are: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders.
  
  
• Biracial individuals have an even less common tissue trait.
  
  
• Biracial individuals have less than a 50% chance to find a match.
  
  
• It is said that 1/200 people will find their match with the current number of people on the registry.
  
  
• In 2007, 35 percent of NMDP transplants, nearly 1,300 transplants, were for patients aged 50 and older.
  
  
• The National Marrow Donor Program has gone international and a donation could save the life of anyone anywhere in the world.
  
  
• The donor does not have to travel to where the recipient lives to make a donation.