Be the 1 to Save a Life: Bone Marrow Drive, March 3-5

Saving the life of someone battling cancer may be as simple as a blood donation.

6 out of 10 patients in need of bone marrow transplants are unable to find a donor.

You could be the one who saves a life. #Iamthe1

During the first week of March, Westminster Service Corps, World Health Empowerment Project (WHEP), Delta Tau Delta, and Dr. Bob Hansen’s Seminar class will conduct a bone marrow drive on campus and educate the Westminster College community about how easy it is to save a life as a bone marrow donor.

The most common donation method is through stem cells filtered through a blood donation, a non-intrusive procedure, no more painful than simply giving blood.

For Dr. Hansen, professor of Organizational Leadership (previously the Executive Director of the Emerson Center for Leadership and Service), the value of a bone marrow donor means more than it does to most people.

In summer 2014, Hansen’s 31-year-old son Matt was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Last October, Matt’s treatment included chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant from an anonymous donor.

“Thanks to the Bone Marrow Registry and this willing donor, Matt is alive and well today,” says Hansen, pictured above with Matt. “By registering to be a potential bone marrow donor you, too, could be a hero and give somebody another chance at life.”

How do I sign up with the Bone Marrow Registry?

• During the bone marrow drive March 3 to 5 on campus, give a DNA sample through a simple cheek swab with a Q-tip.
• Provide additional info about yourself.
• Your info and DNA will be added to the registry.
• Healthy individuals between the ages of 18 and 55 are eligible.

What if I am a match for someone?

If you are a match, you’ll be contacted by the registry and asked if you are willing to donate.

The Westminster Bone Marrow Donation Drive will be held on March 3, 4 and 5.

• 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., JCI Hunter Activity Center
• 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 6:30 p.m., Mueller Dining Hall

Can’t make the drive? Register online at deletebloodcancer.org.

99.99 percent of bone marrow donors say they’d jump at the chance to donate and save a life again.