Published: Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 / Updated: Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 12:22 PM
Get your cheek swabbed, save a life
TEGA CAY --
A local pharmacy wants to help build up the national pool of bone marrow donors.
The reason is simple.
“By making a bone marrow donation, you can give a second chance for life,” said Lisa Honeycutt, a pharmacist with Tega Cay Family Pharmacy.
November is National Bone Marrow Awareness Month, a time when increased awareness is afforded to the plight of obtaining needed bone marrow. Building up the donor pool gives those in need a better chance of finding a match.
Yet, the chances are often low when it comes to finding a match.
That's why, come Wednesday, Nov. 11, Honeycutt will host a bone marrow drive at Tega Cay Family Pharmacy, located at 729 Crossroads Plaza. The local drive, which will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be held in concert with the National Community Pharmacy Bone Marrow Donor Drive.
Potential donors, ages 18 to 56, can stop by the Tega Cay pharmacy for screening. And there will be no blood drawn as part of the quick and painless screening process, Honeycutt said.
“I was under the impression that you would have to go in and have bone marrow withdrawal, that it was a big deal to get on the (bone marrow) registry,” Honeycutt said. “Now, potential donors just have to get [the inside of] their cheeks swabbed.”
It's just that simple, she said.
That simple process can be a life-saver for someone who is waiting for a bone marrow transplant. Still, matching specific tissue characteristics among donors and recipients can be hampered, according to a press release issued from the National Community Pharmacists Association.
“Because tissue type is inherited like skin and eye color, patients are most likely to find a match from someone of a similar ethnic background,” according to the release. “Thus, patients from minority ethnic backgrounds are far less likely than Caucasians to find a matched donor because many minority groups are under represented in the national bone marrow registry.”
Only three of 10 patients will receive a life saving transplant, the release notes. The drive's goal is to help make it possible for all patients to have a fair chance to find their match, according to the release.
That's why Honeycutt is issuing a challenge to Tega Cay and Fort Mill residents.
“Come out and be screened,” she said. “Give five minutes of your day to save someone's life.”
For more registry details, go to www.marrow.org or call 1-800-627-7692.
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