Bone Marrow Drive by SMC Stands Up To Cancer
Contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
(574) 284-4579
November 14, 2014 (Notre Dame, Ind.)— The Saint Mary’s student club SMC Stands up to Cancer will stand up to the disease with a bone marrow registration drive on Friday, November 21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Reignbeaux Lounge of Le Mans Hall. Click for a campus map. Registrants must be between the ages of 18 and 44 to participate. It’s completely painless to sign up, requiring just a swab of the inside of the cheek to get a sample of cells.
Registrants’ genetic information will be added to the Be the Match marrow database which searches for possible matches with blood cancer patients. Suitable donors can provide bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells to patients, saving lives.
Allison Lukomski '16 smiles from a hospital bed
while having her blood drawn for stem cells that
may help a woman with cancer beat it. Allison
registered in a bone marrow database at a drive
on campus last year.This will be the second annual bone marrow drive on campus. Typically, one person in 540 is a match for a patient with a blood cancer, but a match surfaced out of the 50 registered on campus at the last drive. Allison Lukomski ’16, a communicative sciences and disorders major, was a match for a female cancer patient. Lukomski donated peripheral blood stem cells over fall break through a nonsurgical procedure.
“I didn’t do this to be a hero, but to help save a life of someone who shares the same genetic make up as I do,” Lukomski said. “Donating my stem cells to a complete stranger was the most humbling and rewarding experience of my life. I’ve learned to enjoy every moment of life with a different outlook, knowing that the recipient and I will forever be connected through the donation. I would highly recommend joining the list.”
Lukomski plans to be at the drive from 12 to 3 p.m. to talk to the media or anyone who might have questions about the process.
Christina Hutch ’15, president of the club and a nursing major, says, “We raise funds throughout the year for cancer research, a cause that’s close to the hearts of many Saint Mary's women. But we also make an effort to connect with and help cancer patients directly,” she said.
The bone marrow registration event comes of on the heels of this month’s Pink Party Zumbathon, hosted by SMC Stands Up to Cancer, which raised money for cancer research through the national organization Stand Up To Cancer.
About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, residential, women’s liberal arts college offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study, such as business, nursing, art, chemistry, and social work. The College’s single-gender environment has been proven, in study after study, to foster confidence, ethical leadership, and strong academic success. Saint Mary’s College ranks among the top 100 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges for 2015 published by U.S. News & World Report. Founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Saint Mary’s College’s mission is to educate women and prepare them for postgraduate success whether it’s a first job, graduate school, or postgraduate service.