Bone marrow registry taking samples today in Fallbrook

By: TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer | Friday, June 22, 2007 10:43 PM PDT ∞

FALLBROOK ---- The San Diego Blood Bank will be offering free registration today on a national bone marrow registry that finds donors for patients suffering from leukemia, and officials on Friday called for as many volunteers as possible to sign up.

The procedure, a cheek swab that collects blood type and other information, is painless and takes only a few moments, said blood bank spokeswoman Sarah King.

Beginning at 10 a.m. at Lady Di's Castle Consignment, 627 E. Mission Road, residents between the ages of 18 and 60 in the Fallbrook area will be able to put their information on the registry. The event ends at 3 p.m.

King said it's important to add as many people as possible to the registry because it's difficult to find bone marrow matches, the key to curing leukemia for sufferers worldwide.

"The tissue typing is so specific that it's not always easy to find a match," King said, adding that brothers and sisters are usually the best potential donors. "For those who can't find a match within their family ---- or who don't have siblings ---- this registry is really their only hope."

Registry kits that allow people to perform the test themselves at home cost $52 through www.marrow.org, but today's event will not cost anything to those who sign up.

King said it is rare to be called to donate once on the registry, but that when it happens it could save somebody's life. The cut-off age for the registry is 61.

"It is a little bit more involved than a blood donation, but unlike blood donation, it's not something that's very common," she said. "Some people get on the registry, stay on until they're 61 and never get a phone call. And we have a couple of people who have donated twice."

Bone marrow is important because it contains cells that produce blood. If someone has leukemia ---- a cancer of the blood cells ---- a bone marrow transplant is often the only hope, King said.

"For someone who has leukemia, the bone marrow transplant is really their cure, if it's successful," she said.

She added that frequent blood donors also must register if they want to be on the list of potential bone marrow donors.

"If you donate blood all the time, it doesn't mean you're on the bone marrow registry, because it's a totally different program," King said.

To join the registry at today's event, one must have no history of asthma, cancer, diabetes, neck or back problems, heart or circulatory diseases, and must be within ideal weight range as determined by the National Marrow Donor Program.

For more information, call the blood bank at (619) 400-8209.

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 731-5799 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.