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  • MultiCare Seeks Lifesaving Matches

    (TACOMA) - The MultiCare Regional Cancer Center and MultiCare Tacoma Family Medicine are sponsoring a Bone Marrow Drive, Tuesday, October 20 from 10am-2pm in the Katterhagen Resource Center in Tacoma General Hospital 3rd floor of the L wing.

    “The ultimate goal of the drive is to reach out to our diverse community to assist in identifying possible donors,” said David Nicewonger, Administrator for the MultiCare Cancer Center. “People in our community can help patients with debilitating diseases by just being tested on October 20th.”

    90% of donor matches are found within the same racial or ethnic community and only two out of ten patients find the bone marrow match needed to save their lives. This test will identify if a person is a possible match for a patient who is waiting for this life saving donation.

    A bone marrow transplant delivers healthy bone marrow stem cells into the patient. It replaces bone marrow that is either not working properly or has been destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation. Bone marrow transplants are used for certain leukemia’s and cancers as well as to replace bone marrow when treatment for cancer has destroyed the individuals own bone marrow.

    Anyone 18 or older can be pre-screened. The screening takes approximately 10 minutes and only requires an oral swab of the cheek. No pre-registration is required.

    For more information, call 1-800-351-7955.

    Media Contact:
    253.219.1715
    susan.messier@multicare.org

    Posted on Oct 13, 2009 in