Hamilton College will host a Bone Marrow Registry Drive on Thursday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Tolles Pavilion. This drive is in memory of Katharine C. Eckman, a member of Hamilton's Class of 2009, who passed away last October from leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The drive is organized by her friends.
Every year, 35,000 blood-based cancer patients are in need of transplants while only about 3,800 receive one. Almost 80 percent of these life-saving transplants are donated through the collection of peripheral blood stem cells, an outpatient procedure similar to blood donation. Direct marrow donation, which constitutes the other 20 percent of these transplants, is also an outpatient procedure and completely painless. Both transplants are often a patient's only hope.
The process of bone marrow donation starts with registering to be a donor. Registrants need to fill out a registration form and swab the inside of the cheek to determine compatibility with potential recipients. Registrants must be between the ages of 18 and 55 and be in general good health. DKMS Americas, the largest bone marrow donor center in the world, is helping to finance the cost of the Hamilton College drive in conjunction with private donations. Because of this generous support, no fee is required to register; however, donations will be accepted on behalf of DKMS Americas, a non-profit. If you cannot attend the registration drive, please log on to www.dkmsamericas.org to either request an in-home registration kit or donate online.
Contact the coordinators with questions:
Thomas Kobayashi, 303-588-0499
Thomas.kobayashi@gmail.com, or
Avery Rizio 617-820-8260
Avery.rizio@gmail.com
Every year, 35,000 blood-based cancer patients are in need of transplants while only about 3,800 receive one. Almost 80 percent of these life-saving transplants are donated through the collection of peripheral blood stem cells, an outpatient procedure similar to blood donation. Direct marrow donation, which constitutes the other 20 percent of these transplants, is also an outpatient procedure and completely painless. Both transplants are often a patient's only hope.
The process of bone marrow donation starts with registering to be a donor. Registrants need to fill out a registration form and swab the inside of the cheek to determine compatibility with potential recipients. Registrants must be between the ages of 18 and 55 and be in general good health. DKMS Americas, the largest bone marrow donor center in the world, is helping to finance the cost of the Hamilton College drive in conjunction with private donations. Because of this generous support, no fee is required to register; however, donations will be accepted on behalf of DKMS Americas, a non-profit. If you cannot attend the registration drive, please log on to www.dkmsamericas.org to either request an in-home registration kit or donate online.
Contact the coordinators with questions:
Thomas Kobayashi, 303-588-0499
Thomas.kobayashi@gmail.com, or
Avery Rizio 617-820-8260
Avery.rizio@gmail.com
