CERRITOS – The city of Cerritos is holding marrow donor recruitment drives this coming week in an effort to save lives of local patients in need of marrow or blood cell transplants. People suffering from leukemia, aplastic anemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome and other blood-related diseases could be cured with a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor, city officials said.

Only 30 percent of patients find matches from within their family. A patient is more likely to find a match from within his or her racial or ethnic background.

A national marrow database has more than 10 million people, of which more than 7 million are Caucasian and the rest are African American, Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, mixed race, and other minorities.

Cerritos will hold donor registration drives this Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the Cerritos Farmers Market, and from 3-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Cerritos Library.

To join the national registry, donors must be in good general health and be willing to donate to any patient in need.

Donors must also be between the ages of 18 and 44, and able to give a cheek cell sample.

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Published: May 1, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 03