Author Spotlight
Lauren Brown-Hulme
During the Friday, Nov. 1 football game against SM North there will be an opportunity for spectators between the ages of 18 and 44 to join the bone marrow registry between the times of 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Roeland Park resident and North graduate, Heather Morrow, created the Bo Macan It Happen drive through the Be The Match Registry to help patients like four year-old Bo Macan. Bo is the son of Morrow’s high school friend Carolyn, who has a rare autoimmune disorder. Patients in need of a bone marrow transplant would directly benefit from the registry, as Be The Match works to match patients with donors who are eligible to provide healthy bone marrow.
Senior Alex Symes plans on registering tonight at the game. “My mom works the bone marrow transplant unit at Children’s Mercy and also my sister has immunodeficiency,” Symes said. “If one of your siblings isn’t a match it’s hard to find a donor, so the registry provides a large pool for patients to choose from.”
To register, football game attendees must complete a registration form with contact information, health information and a signed agreement to join the Be The Match Registry. Those wanting to be registered should bring a form of personal identification and contact information for two family members or friends who would know how to reach them in the future if contact information changes. Registry workers will swab the cheeks of those interested in joining the registry in order to match the cheek cells of donors to patients.
Those who cannot or choose not to register, can still make a financial contribution to Be The Match Registry. The total cost to add a new member to the registry is about $100.
More information about Bo and the Bo Macan It Happen drive can be found at here.
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