Stillman Hosts Bone Marrow Drive
02 Feb 2010
Stillman College along with The Icla da Silva Foundation hosted a bone marrow drive, "Be the Match," on campus Tuesday. The drive is to assit in finding a bone marrow match for Jennifer Jones Austin, a 41-year-old wife and mother of two children, who is suffering from Leukemia. Tuesday's event also honored the member of Franklin Geer, a Tuscaloosa man who lost his own battle with Leukemia back in 2007.
The drive is intended to raise awareness about bone marrow donation, while giving volunteers the opportunity to join the national bone marrow registry. Officials with Icla say the chances of being a perfect bone marrow match are about 1 in 20,000 people. If a member of a patient's family is not a perfect match, it can be incredibly difficult to find a suitable donor. Officials say individuals who share similar genetic traits are more likely to be compatible. Typically, people of the same race are closer matches then those of different racial backgrounds. "There are about seven million people registered as donors, but less than about nine percent are of African descent or hispanic,"Alina Carbonelle, a recruiter with Icla explains, "About six percent are Asian." Carbonelle explains that fewer minorities are registered bone marrow donors, which can make it very difficult to find a suitable match for some patients.
Icla officials say they want potential donors to know the donation process is not like what they may have seen on television. Officials say 80% of the procedures are done through a process similar to blood donation, while 20% are done through minor outpatient surgery. To join the bone marrow registry, volunteers use a swab of their cheeks to collect cells, which can be tested for potential matches in the future. If you missed the drive Tuesday, but would like to become a bone marrow donor, you can visit The Icla da Silva Foundation's website at www.icla.org
See video by clicking here.
The drive is intended to raise awareness about bone marrow donation, while giving volunteers the opportunity to join the national bone marrow registry. Officials with Icla say the chances of being a perfect bone marrow match are about 1 in 20,000 people. If a member of a patient's family is not a perfect match, it can be incredibly difficult to find a suitable donor. Officials say individuals who share similar genetic traits are more likely to be compatible. Typically, people of the same race are closer matches then those of different racial backgrounds. "There are about seven million people registered as donors, but less than about nine percent are of African descent or hispanic,"Alina Carbonelle, a recruiter with Icla explains, "About six percent are Asian." Carbonelle explains that fewer minorities are registered bone marrow donors, which can make it very difficult to find a suitable match for some patients.
Icla officials say they want potential donors to know the donation process is not like what they may have seen on television. Officials say 80% of the procedures are done through a process similar to blood donation, while 20% are done through minor outpatient surgery. To join the bone marrow registry, volunteers use a swab of their cheeks to collect cells, which can be tested for potential matches in the future. If you missed the drive Tuesday, but would like to become a bone marrow donor, you can visit The Icla da Silva Foundation's website at www.icla.org
See video by clicking here.