Bone marrow registry drive on Saturday

Friends and family of a Fort Wayne middle school student are hosting a bone marrow registry drive on Saturday in an effort to find a match for him and other patients like him.

Robert Ward attends Memorial Park Middle School and is in need of a bone marrow transplant. An event being held February 25 is part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness in the African American community.

“We are in great need of increasing our registry of donors who represent minority populations,” said Cathy Loeser, manager of the Marrow Donor Program for Indiana Blood Center. “For Robert and hundreds of others of African Americans his same position, each new registry member could represent a second chance at life.”

Ward was diagnosed when he was 9 months old and travels to Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis for his medical care. He's asking people in the Fort Wayne area to be part of Robert Ward’s Drive for Life from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Samuel Walker Community Center. It's located at 1151 Frances Street. Donors can join Be The Match Registry in person or online and increase the odds of every racial and ethnic group to have equal access to a life-saving transplant.

A marrow transplant can be a cure for someone with sickle cell disease or other illnesses like leukemia and lymphoma. Robert Ward is like many patients in need of a transplant who don't have a match in their family. Right now, the chance of finding a match on the Be The Match Registry is close to 93 percent for Caucasians, but for African Americans, the chances can be as low as 66 percent.

To sign up as a committed registry member, people need to meet age and health guidelines and be ready, willing and available to donate to any patient in need. Registration involves completing a health history form and giving a swab of cheek cells. There is no cost to the donor, however, donations are appreciated to help cover the $100 cost to add each new registry member.