Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation to host bone marrow drive

By Dylan Scott

Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 | 8:55 a.m.

Potential bone marrow donors are invited to stop by the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation’s fifth annual drive Sept. 10 and 11 at the Galleria at Sunset in Henderson.

The drive, coordinated by the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation and the National Bone Marrow Registry, will match up potential donors with children diagnosed with various cancers, sickle cell anemia and other blood-related disorders.

Barb Porter, administrative assistant for the NCCF, said David, an 18-year-old suffering from acute lymphocytic leukemia, was waiting for a transplant and hoping the event would find a match.

The drive is intended to serve a number of patients over the next year, she said.

Registration is free. Donors must complete a brief questionnaire and have the inside of his or her mouth swabbed to collect DNA. The organizations will then put that information into a registry database, and donors will be contacted if he or she is a match for someone awaiting a bone marrow transplant.

The registration desk can be found from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the mall’s first floor in front of Kohl’s and Gap. For more information, visit www.marrow.org.