Members of the Purdue University North Central Astronomy Club and the "Be The Match Registry" will host a bone marrow registry drive on April 16, 17 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Library-Student-Faculty Building, just outside Room 114.

The National Marrow Donor Program, also known as "Be The Match Registry," provides people with the opportunity to save a life by donating marrow to persons with leukemia or other life-threatening diseases in the United States who are waiting bone marrow transplants.

Interested individuals may speed up the process by pre-registering on April 2 and 3 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. just outside of Room 114. Those who pre-register will be asked to return on April 16, 17 or 18 to take part in the actual collection drive. At that time, each potential donor will have the inside of their mouth swabbed. The swab will be sent to a lab to be analyzed to see if the person is a match for anyone in need of a bone marrow transplant. If there is a match, the individual will have the opportunity to donate their marrow to someone in need.

An expert from the "Be The Match Registry," will be on hand during the registration to answer questions about the registry, bone marrow donation, volunteer opportunities and sponsoring future drives. The Astronomy Club members and "Be The Match Registry," hope to have 500 student, faculty, staff and community members joining the registry as potential bone marrow donors.

According to the "Be The Match Registry," 70 percent of all patients who need a transplant do not have a matching donor in their family and they turn to the Be The Match Registry to find an unrelated donor.

• Be between the ages of 18 and 60 
• Be willing to help any patient in need
• Meet the health guidelines
• Fill out an application 
• Swab the inside your cheek

For more information contact Emmanuel A. Zambrano, M.P.A. Education and Recruitment Specialist for the Be the Match Foundation/Icla da Silva Foundation at 773-910-2024 or or visit http://marrow.org/Home.aspx