On Saturday, September 28 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Be The Match and GH Sports are teaming up to host the first San Luis Obispo County Community Bone Marrow drive. The drive will be held at GH Sports, 144 Hind Lane, Suite 110 in San Luis Obispo.
The process to get onto the Bone Marrow Registry is very simple. Here’s what to know:
• You must be between the ages of 18 – 44
• The process takes only 5 minutes and includes a simple mouth swab
• Registrants with minority heritage are especially in needed
• Be The Match will contact you in the future if you match a cancer patient who needs a bone marrow donation
“Last year our founder, Greg Hind, passed away suddenly from a rare form of blood cancer, Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML),” explains Garrett Long, GH Sports Manager. “Greg was always very supportive of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training and other community-based organizations, and we believe this Bone Marrow Drive is a great way to honor that support. Our goal this Saturday is to get 100 new individuals added to the Bone Marrow Registry.”
Every 4 minutes, somebody is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia. For many patients a marrow transplant is the only life-saving treatment. 70 percent of cancer patients rely on bone marrow donors to save their lives, but there are not enough registered members – especially with diverse ancestry.
If you are in SLO this Saturday between 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., stop by GH Sports to register for the chance to save a life. While registering, you can shop GH Sports’ huge Blowout Sale offering 30 – 80 percent off everything in the store.