The Society of Medical Laboratory Scientists is partnering with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to host a bone marrow registry drive on Tuesday, Feb. 18, allowing students and community members to register as potential donors. The event will take place in the Van Pelt and Opie Library from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“It’s so rare to find someone you can match with,” said Marissa Ritter, a Medical Laboratory Sciences major at MTU and an organizer of the registry drive. “I would maybe be able to match with one person on this entire campus.” The drive aims to increase participation in the National Marrow Registry, which connects patients with blood cancers, aplastic anemia, and other serious blood disorders to compatible donors. Registration involves a brief eligibility check followed by a cheek swab to determine whether a donor is a potential match for patients in need of a blood stem cell transplant.
Bone marrow contains blood stem cells that develop into red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. These are essential for carrying oxygen, fighting infection, and forming blood clots. “If someone has any type of blood cancer that is preventing their blood from working the way it’s supposed to, they need to get a new source that makes new, correct blood cells,” Ritter said. For many patients with life-threatening blood diseases, a transplant from an unrelated donor is often the best chance for survival.
While many transplants today use peripheral blood stem cell donation, bone marrow donation remains critical for certain patients, particularly children and those at higher risk for chronic graft-versus-host disease. Although only a small percentage of registered donors are asked to donate bone marrow, those who are selected can provide a life-saving treatment option when other methods are less suitable.
An NMDP representative will be present during the event to answer questions about the registry, donation methods, and the overall process. Students who are unsure whether they are already registered are encouraged to participate, as registering more than once does not cause issues and helps ensure donor information is current.
NMDP covers all medical costs and travel expenses related to donation, and most donors are able to return to normal activities within a week. According to the organization, serious complications from bone marrow donations are rare. “The risks are so low, and they have been doing these procedures for so long that your gonna get a good medical team that’s going to help you the best way they can,” Ritter said, “I have talked to someone personally who donated, he said the biggest issue he had was pain around the incision sight”
Additional information about the drive is available by contacting the Society of Medical Laboratory Scientists at smls@mtu.edu.
