PTK sponsors marrow giving
by Nick Nance, managing editor

    Blood was shed the day before Halloween on NE Campus.

   No events from Friday the 13 took place.

   Students, faculty and staff gathered to hear about the benefits of donating bone marrow during a luncheon sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, Phi Tau Chapter, for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).

   “The process of donating bone marrow begins with a tiny poke on the end of your finger,” Renetta Wright, recruitment specialist from Cook Children’s Medical Center, said.

   Next a card with the blood sample is sent to the national headquarters where the blood type and information are stored, Wright said.

   "After your information is input into the system, the only time you will ever hear anything else is if you match the type of someone in need,” she said.

   Wright informed students, faculty and staff that every year more than 30,000 people from all races, ethnic communities and socioeconomic backgrounds are diagnosed with diseases, such as leukemia and other inherited diseases.

   If someone is identified as a potential match, there is no charge for additional blood tests, the donation procedure, hospital stay or travel, Wright said.

   “Usually there is a $73 fee for the tissue typing; however, those who sign up today and at the health fair get this fee paid by the NMDP,” she said.

   Approximately 20 students and faculty registered to be donors at the luncheon.

   “It is exciting to see so many people take part in doing something as important as saving another person’s life,” April Ozuna, NE Phi Theta Kappa president said.

   The health fair will be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the Student Center’s Center Corner.

   For information on NMDP or donating bone marrow, contact Wright at 817-810-3688 or visit NMDP’s Web site at nmdp@cookchildrens.org.