Bone Marrow Drive to be held at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – A bone marrow drive will be conducted for Cherise O'Day on Monday, March 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Hogan Campus Center at Holy Cross.  It is sponsored by the Holy Cross Purple Key Society and the HLA Registry Foundation.

Last year O'Day, a native of Worcester, was diagnosed with Chronic Mylogeonous Leukemia.  This rare and potentially fatal form of leukemia requires a bone marrow transplant from a compatible donor.

The drive to find a possible donor for O'Day is open to anyone who is in good health, between the ages of 18-60, able to give two tablespoons of blood for analysis and willing to be a part of the national registry.

The HLA Registry Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, is the largest voluntary marrow donor center in the United States, and is able to coordinate drives in order to recruit potential marrow donors throughout the country.  Its goal is to add HLA-typed marrow donors who are willing to donate their healthy marrow to someone in need.