Phoenix Children's Hospital and Mayo Clinic to host National Bone Marrow Screening in May

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

PHOENIX - The Blood and Marrow (BMT) Transplant Program at Mayo Clinic and Phoenix Children's Hospital will host the National Marrow Donor Program's, Thanks Mom! Marrow Donor Recruitment Campaign, from May 14-17.

This is a chance for members of the community and employees to help give the gift of life by joining the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry.

At Phoenix Children's, 1919 East Thomas, Phoenix, the drive will take place in their front lobby on Monday, May 14, and Tuesday, May 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parking will be reserved in the parking garage for community donors.

At Mayo Clinic, the drive will take place just outside the Taylor Auditorium on the first floor of the Mayo Clinic Building, 13400 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, on Wednesday, May 16, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. At Mayo Clinic Hospital, 5777 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, the drive will take place in the lab waiting area on the first floor near Admitting on Thursday, May 17, also from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

People age 18-60 in generally good health are encouraged to attend the drive and fill out a short questionnaire. Then a small swab of cheek cells is taken with a cotton swab to determine the tissue type to be matched against patients who need a donor. This information is added to the NMDP registry. No extraction of blood or marrow takes place at the event - just the screening and the swabbing. The test results are added to the NMDP registry.

If a patient is diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma and does not have a matched sibling or family member, the registry is consulted to determine if there is a match resulting from the donor drive. If a match is identified, people on the registry are contacted to ascertain their willingness to proceed with donation. "We are excited to host this drive, which could help save the lives of adult and pediatric cancer patients waiting for a marrow transplant," says Jay Maningo-Salinas, RN, manager of the Apheresis Program at Mayo Clinic.

Thanks Mom! is the first NMDP nationwide marrow donor drive, held in conjunction with Mother's Day in May, to honor mothers by giving the gift of life to someone else.

"Every day, thousands of children and adults with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases are looking for a donor for a marrow or cord blood transplant," says Maningo-Salinas. "For a chance to survive, these patients need healthy marrow or blood cells to help their bodies make new, healthy blood cells either from a donor within their family or an unrelated donor from the NMDP Registry."

NMDP donor centers and recruitment groups work daily to diversify the Registry, increasing the number of donors from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to improve all patients' odds of finding a donor. NMDP's worldwide network of more than 500 leading medical facilities, including Mayo Clinic and Phoenix Children's Hospital, have assisted in helping more than 25,000 patients receive the chance for a longer life because they received a marrow or cord blood transplant through the NMDP.

For more information about the Thanks Mom! Marrow Donor Recruitment Campaign, call (480) 342-0290 at Mayo Clinic or (602) 546-5871 at Phoenix Children's.

Phoenix Children's Hospital is Arizona's leader in pediatric care and is one of the 10 largest free-standing children's hospitals in the nation. The most comprehensive array of pediatric specialists in the State practice at this one organization. The outstanding clinical expertise, as well as high patient volume, and an unwavering commitment to caring only for children, all contribute to Children's leadership position. For information about Phoenix Children's, visit the Hospital's award-winning Web site at www.phoenixchildrens.com.

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is one of only 38 U.S. medical centers that have been named as a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center. To receive this designation, an institution must meet rigorous standards demonstrating clinical excellence in treating cancer patients and scientific excellence in its research programs. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is ranked by the NCI as one of the top 10 cancer centers in the nation, and is the only national, multi-site center with the NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Center designation. In Arizona, Mayo's clinical and research experts work together to address the complex needs of cancer patients, with a dedication to understanding the biology of cancer; discovering new ways to predict, prevent, diagnose and treat cancer; and transforming the quality of life for cancer patients today and in the future.

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