Mercy to host bone marrow registry drive March 21

Residents of Northern Iowa can take the first step to saving a life by joining the Be The Match Registry®. On Tuesday, March 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Mercy Medical Center – North Iowa will host a donor registry drive at its East Campus Main Lobby to raise awareness about the need for bone marrow donors, and to perhaps find a matching donor for those in need of a bone marrow transplant. The registry drive is being organized by Taylor Stille, a nurse at Mercy – North Iowa whose father's life was saved by a bone marrow transplant.
For thousands of patients with life-threatening diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia, a marrow transplant from an unrelated donor is their best or only hope for a cure. These patients depend on the national Be The Match Registry®, a system matching peripheral blood stem cell and bone marrow donors to patients battling blood cancers, to find a match – and a second chance at life. While many patients do find the life-saving match they need each year, more donors are needed to help increase the likelihood that all patients will find a match.
At any one time, there are more than 35 Iowans searching through the Be The Match Registry®.  Currently, there are at least six Iowans, including two children, who do not have a matched donor in the registry.
Adults between the ages of 18 and 44 are invited to join the registry during the drive; registry data shows transplant doctors request donors of those ages more than 90 percent of the time. Organizers say patients are most likely to match someone of their own race or ethnicity. More young people of diverse racial and ethnic heritage are needed to help build the registry for patients searching for a match. The registry process is simple, requiring only paperwork and a cheek swab.
If you can’t make it to the drive on March 21, visit https://join.bethematch.org/MercyNorthIA to register. For more information, contact Colleen Reardon, Iowa Marrow Donor Program manager, at (319) 356-7515.