(LOUISVILLE, KY) – To kick off National Marrow Awareness Month, the University of Louisville and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center are partnering to hold the first ever student bone marrow drive, “Be a Lifesaver.”
On Wednesday, November 1, the University’s student population will be encouraged to help save a life by joining the National Marrow Donor Program’s (NMDP) Registry. Registration will be held at the University of Louisville, Belknap Campus, Swain Student Activities Center (Atrium Level), from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The initial commitment to join the national donor registry only requires a small sample of cheek cells from the potential donor. This procedure is done with a sterile cotton swab. An individual of any race, ethnicity, or gender between the ages of 18 to 60 and in general good health is eligible to become a volunteer donor.
As part of UofL, it makes sense for the Brown Cancer Center’s Blood and Marrow Donor Program to reach out to the University’s healthy, young and ethnically diverse population. UofL’s fall enrollment is almost 22,000. Almost 2,500 students are African American.
"This is a chance for our students to step up in the fight against cancer," said U of L President Dr. James Ramsey. "The simple act of joining the registry can make a real difference in the lives of cancer patients in Louisville and beyond."
Every student that participates in the drive will receive a free T-shirt and a $5 food coupon. The first ten students who enroll will also receive an extra incentive gift of thanks.
Each year, more than 30,000 children and adults in the United States are diagnosed with life-threatening blood diseases. Only 30 percent of all patients in need of a transplant find a donor match within their family. Outside of one’s family, a patient’s most likely match is with an individual of the same race or ethnic heritage. This leaves the majority of people turning to the NMDP Registry. Therefore, it is critical to expand the diversity of potential donors and improve the chance a match could be provided for minority patients.
As the region’s only NMDP location, The Brown Cancer Center has performed 193 transplants in the past five years. Currently there are only 17,300 active donors on the region’s registry, which includes Western Kentucky, Southern Indiana, and parts of Tennessee and Illinois. Of the four-state region’s population of 2.3 million, less than one percent is on the registry, and the minority representation is also extremely low.
For more information on how to join the registry or would like organize a bone marrow drive, please call the Brown Cancer Center's Marrow Donor Program at (502) 852-3154 or (800) 234-2689.
The James Graham Brown Cancer Center is part of the University of Louisville’s Health Sciences Center and UofL Health Care. As the region’s leading academic, research, and teaching medical center, our patients benefit from the latest medical advances, often long before they become available in non-teaching settings. The Brown Cancer Center is affiliated with the National Cancer Institute and the Kentucky Cancer Program. It is the only cancer center in the region to use a unified approach to cancer care, with multidisciplinary teams of physicians working together to guide patients through diagnosis, treatment and recovery.