MACOMB, Ill. (NEWS3) — A student organization at Western Illinois University is reaching out to potential bone marrow donors in the community for a swab drive.
Blood cancer and illnesses are some of the many causes WIU’s Love Your Melon crew works to bring awareness to.
The organization will be hosting a DKMS Drive at WIU on Friday. The event will be held in hopes of helping patients in need of a bone marrow transplant find their matches.
DKMS is an international organization who creates awareness for blood cancer and blood disorders by recruiting bone marrow donors.
Love Your Melon Club President Dani Harris said the goal is to receive 100 swabs to create a more ethnically diverse registry for patients in need of a bone marrow transplant.
“On the day of the event, we will have stations set up so participants can watch a three-minute video and then they’ll be entered in a raffle drawing for a special basket,” Harris said. “I”m looking forward to the community to come together as well as campus.”
Participants will swab the inside of their check with a long cotton swab. The swab will then be sent off and tested if it’s a DNA match for someone that needs a transplant.
The DKMS Drive will take place on Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the University Union.
Click here for more information.
