Donate blood, join bone-marrow registry tomorrow in Sze

Brief

The Puget Sound Blood Center is sponsoring a joint blood drive and bone-marrow registry drive on Friday, Aug. 18, in the Sze East/West conference rooms in the Thomas Building from 9-11:30 a.m. and 12:15-3 p.m.

Blood donors can avoid any waiting by scheduling a specific donation time on the Blood Center's Web site: www.psbc.org/programs/drive.asp?URL=1455.

Employees can also join the National Marrow Donor Program Registry that day. Of the thousands of people with life-threatening illnesses awaiting marrow or stem-cell transplants, about 70 percent do not have a genetically matched family member who can donate for them. Because tissue types are inherited, patients are most likely to find a match within their own ethnic or racial group. Only a small percentage of registrants are people of color.

If you are a person of color, there is no charge to register. Caucasian donors are asked to contribute a $52 tax-deductible donation to cover their tissue-type testing. Donors do not need to pay on the day of the drive. A bone-marrow donor program employee will contact the donor with payment options.

To join the registry, it is necessary to first complete paperwork detailing contact information and health history. The 10-minute screening involves a cheek swab. You do not need to donate blood or have an appointment to join the bone-marrow registry.

For more information or to pick up a registry application, please contact Kristen Woodward at (206) 667-5095.

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