Fellowship United Methodist Church located at 2201 Peachers Mill Road will be hosting a Be The Match Marrow Registry Drive from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., Sunday July 21.

The group is asking that people between the ages of 18 and 44 attend the event, complete a consent form, and give a swab of their cheek cells, which will determine if they are a match for someone in need of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. Only those who are a match will be contacted, and the majority of donations will not require surgery. Donors added to the registry will remain searchable by patients until the age of 61.

Those who do not fall within the age requirements of the registry are encouraged to make a tax-deductible donation to the cause. It costs the National Marrow Donor Program approximately $100 to register each person. Funds raised will go to Be The Match in honor of “Team Harding” to help offset those costs. FUMC is attempting to meet their current fundraising goal of $1,500.
As of now, only ten percent of the 10 million members of Be The Match are Hispanic, while seven percent are African American, and seven percent are Asian. This means individuals of these ethnicities are especially needed to join the registry.

According to the group’s Donor Drive page, “It is our wish that every patient who needs this lifesaving therapy receive it. That can only be accomplished with help from all of us.”

To join, give, or volunteer with Be The Match, contact: Suzanne Desrochers & Tina Westberg at (931) 216-2203, suzannetina@aol.com or Mary LeSueur at (662) 403-0091, mlesueur@nmdp.org.

Donations can be mailed to Be The Match Foundation, ATTN: Mary LeSueur at 8700 Stateline Road,Suite 340, Leawood, KS 66206. Checks should be made payable to Be The Match Foundation with “Giving Grace” on the memo line.

Visit the Fellowship United Methodist Church Donor Drive at http://www.bethematchfoundation.org/site/TR?px=2522405&fr_id=1460&pg=personal.

Questions about being a registered donor, organizing a marrow registration donor drive or “tax-deductible” financial donations, can be directed to drive coordinators, Suzanne Desrochers or Tina Westberg at (931) 216-2203, suzannetina@aol.com or our Be the Match Representative, Mary LeSueur, mlesueur@nmdp.org, (877) 601-1926, ext. 7745; or (cell) 662-403-0091.

To learn more about Be the Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, visit: www.bethematch.org