Updated at 2:50 p.m., Saturday, July 7, 2007
Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry holding drives
Advertiser Staff
In its ongoing efforts to increase the number of possible donors in Hawai'i, the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry at Hawaii Medical Center—East will hold the following bone marrow drives in July:
Sunday, July 8
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Kailua Community Church
250 Oneawa St.
Sunday, July 15
9:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Faith Baptist Church
1230 Kailua Road
Thursday, July 19
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Paokalani Tower
2552 Kalakaua Ave. (No validated parking)
Saturday, July 28
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Papakolea Community Health Fair
Papakolea Community Center
2150 Tantalus Drive
The Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry is now using a new "buccal swab" technique to register donors in Hawai'i. "A swab of the cheek cells inside a donor's mouth is taken, and the sample is collected and then sent to the National Marrow Donor Program repository for testing and storage," says Roy Yonashiro, Hawaii Registry recruitment specialist. "The
registration process is quick, simple and painless."
Donors must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good general health. Donors need only to register once. If you have already registered and need to update your information or would like more information about becoming a donor, please call the Registry at 547-6154 or visit the national Web site at www.marrow.org
The Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry was founded in 1989 and joined the National Marrow Donor Program to help patients in Hawaii and all over the world find healthy and willing bone marrow or blood stem cell donors. Only 30 percent of patients will find matching donors within their families; therefore, others need to find unrelated matches.
Matches are more easilyfound between people of the same ethnic background. Since 1989, the Hawaii Registry has recruited approximately 68,000 registered donors throughout Hawai'i, Guam, and American Samoa. About 250 of those donors have actually donated bone marrow or blood stem cells for patients all over the world.
