Summerlin Hospital to Host “Be The Match” Drive on September 27
Summerlin Hospital has partnered with Be The Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, to host a registry drive on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 from 1 – 7 pm in the hospital’s main classroom. The registry is used to find marrow “matches” for people with life-threatening blood cancers including leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell disease. According to Be The Match, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer every three to four minutes.
Three Ways to Join the Registry
To join the registry, donors should be 18 to 40 years old, in good health and willing to donate to any patient in need. There are three ways to join the registry:
- Stop by the drive to register and do your own 10-second check swab
- Text SHMC to 61474 to join the registry
- Visit my.BeTheMatch.org/SHMC to register online and order a free check swab kit by mail
Fast Facts About Bone Marrow Donations
- 90% of donors are asked to provide blood stem cells collected from circulating blood. Similar to donating plasma or platelets, it’s a non-surgical, outpatient process that has donors back to their regular routines in one to two days. It does require five days of shots leading up to donation.
- 10% of donors are asked to provide blood stem cells collected from bone marrow. This is done while under general anesthesia. Considered a pain-free outpatient procedure, donors are typically back to their routine in two to seven days.
- Be The Match pays 100% of the costs if donors must travel out of town for the donation.
- According to Be The Match, genetic type is inherited. Ethnic background is an important factor for matching donors and patients because patients are most likely to match someone with the same ethnic background. “Adding more registry members who increase the ethnic diversity of the registry increases the variety of tissue types available, helping more patients find the match they need,” according to the organization’s website.
“We hope any and everyone remotely interested in donation stops by the drive or checks out the Be The Match website,” said Carla Stevens, BScN, RN, OCN, Oncology Program Coordinator for Summerlin Hospital. “We’ll have people available to answer questions, lots of educational literature and refreshments. We know everyone’s schedules are packed especially those between the ages of 18 and 40, so we are hosting the event from 1 to 7 pm so people can stop by after school or work.”
Odds of Finding a Match Based on Ethnic Background
- Black or African American: 29%
- Asian or Pacific Islander: 47%
- Hispanic or Latino: 48%
- Native American: 60%
- White: 79%