Bone marrow donor registration drive held April 8 at PdC Dentistry
By Correne Martin
Becoming a registered bone marrow donor is simple. It involves swabbing a person’s cheeks for 30 seconds each to collect cells for use in matching with a patient. Otherwise, all that is needed is a quick eligibility screening and a completed registration form.
New potential donors, between the ages of 18 and 55 and in good general health, are encouraged to attend a free bone marrow donor registration drive on Friday, April 8, from 1 to 4 p.m., at PdC Dentistry. Appointments are preferred but not required; call 326-8458.
“The more people we can get on the list, the better,” stated Kelly Thompson, whose aunt battled leukemia and was a bone marrow donation recipient. Thompson herself got on the national bone marrow registry at age 18 in her aunt’s honor.
Thompson noted that this drive is also being held in honor of Samson Boylen, who died of complications from leukemia. Samson was the son of Scott and Kelli Boylen.
“Bone marrow donation is not as extensive as it used to be,” she added. “It’s an outpatient procedure.”
In addition to PdC Dentistry offering this drive, in partnership with Delete Blood Cancer, the Prairie du Chien dental office will also soon begin offering bone marrow registration as part of its patient services and to those who may not be patients at the clinic.
“We figured we’re already working in patients’ mouths,” Thompson said. “Our supplier, Henry Schein Dental, contacted us and asked us to consider getting our staff trained to do this.”
In addition to the process being simple, the great thing is that there’s no charge to the patient or to PdC Dentistry, as the prepaid kits and educational materials are provided to the clinic free of charge.
“There’s not cost to us, just our time,” she added. “We will do the swab and submit the paperwork. The patient will be notified if they’re a potential match.”
Other than a bone marrow drive about a year ago in support of Prairie du Chien native Carl Shedivy, who has battled leukemia, the Prairie du Chien area has had few events like this available to its residents.
“We were talking about how bone marrow drives were lacking in this area, and we just thought it might be a good idea,” Thompson said.
By making an appointment to attend the April 8 drive and get registered, you will be doing your part in increasing hope for those needing a bone marrow transplant.
According to Delete Blood Cancer, blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are the third leading cause of cancer deaths. This year, nearly 14,000 patients need transplants from unrelated donors, though less than half will get them. There are also 150,000 people expected to be diagnosed this year with a blood cancer.
To find out more about the bone marrow donation process or how to register online, visit deletebloodcancer.org.
