Holy Cross Students Spearhead "New England's Largest Attempt to Save a Life"

WORCESTER, Mass. – Each year thousands of people die from leukemia, aplastic anemia and other life-threatening diseases, which could be cured through a bone marrow transplant. In response to this tragedy, the Multiethnic Identity Xploration (MIX) student group at Holy Cross is spearheading "New England's Largest Attempt to Save a Life" by hosting a bone marrow drive and pre-drive charity banquet. The general public is strongly encouraged to attend.

Sponsored with the American Red Cross of New England and the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), the drive will be held in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom on Thursday, Feb. 19 from 12 – 8 p.m. Remaining faithful to the College's mission of being "men and women for others," MIX hopes to register at least 500 people with the NMDP during their eight-hour event.

While donors of all races are encouraged to register, MIX is looking to get a large number of minority donors. "Currently, racial minorities and mixed race donors are extremely under-represented on the National Marrow Donor Program's registry. Because people are most likely to find a marrow match with someone of the same racial or ethnic background, it is extremely important to diversify the registry and offer all patients an equal chance at finding an unrelated donor," said Isaac Tesfay ‘04, MIX co-chair. "That's the ultimate goal of the drive."

The registration process takes only 20 minutes. Volunteers are asked to watch a video, fill out a medical information form and a consent form, and provide a small blood sample through a finger prick. The NMDP makes all the arrangements for laboratory testing, drawing the blood, and shipping the samples.

To add to their efforts, MIX will be hosting a pre-drive bone marrow charity banquet on Sunday, Feb. 8 in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. The goal of the banquet is to raise at least $20,000 for donation to the MAVIN Foundation's MatchMaker program, a program dedicated to mixed-race bone marrow donor recruitment, and to educating the public about the transplant procedure and the critical need for minority donors.

A portion of the money raised will cover the cost of the $25 "typing" fee for non-minority donors. (The NMDP covers the fee if the donor is African-American, Hispanic, Asian or American Indian.)

The dinner banquet will feature musical and dance performances, and a series of guest speakers. Tickets are $80 per individual. A table of 10 may be purchased for only $650.