Join bone marrow registry, donate blood at MCC

The McHenry County College Student Nursing Organization will host a blood drive and noninvasive bone marrow registration event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the college, 8900 Route 14 in Crystal Lake. The MCC Student Nursing Organization is coordinating the event with Heartland Blood Centers and Deletebloodcancer.org.

"This is a great time of need for donations," noted SNO co-president Heather McLaughlin of Wonder Lake, a third-semester nursing student at MCC. "Donations are down in general, so the Student Nursing Organization (at MCC) felt this would be a good event to host and help raise awareness in the community. A little time out of your day to register and donate a pint of blood could help save a life."

McLaughlin said everyone who donates at the MCC blood drive will receive a coupon for a free meal at Jersey Mike's Subs - a sandwich, chips and drink - plus one donor will win a $50 catering coupon from Jersey Mike's.

Donors are urged to register for the blood drive ahead of time online at www.heartlandbc.org. Walk-ins also are welcome. Participants must have a photo ID to donate, and donors should also drink plenty of fluids and have a good meal before donating blood.

McLaughlin said students and community members are also urged to register for the bone marrow database before, during or after the blood drive. The registration process is quick and noninvasive, involving a form to fill out and a cheek swab.

"If you happen to be a bone marrow match for someone in need, 75 percent of the time, it's just a blood draw," she said. "So again, with minimal effort and time, you could have a lifesaving impact on someone's life."

McLaughlin said part of SNO's incentive for hosting the bone marrow registry was MCC's Firefighter/EMT program and the fact that many first responders from 9/11 are now being diagnosed with blood cancers as a result of chemical exposure during rescue efforts.

Those who wish to register for the bone marrow database but can't make the registration event on Nov. 12 may go to deletebloodcancer.org. To be eligible to register for the bone marrow registry, a person must be: between the ages of 18 and 55; in general good health; willing to donate to any patient; not already registered; living permanently in the U.S.; and at least 4 feet 10 inches and 110 pounds.

Heartland Blood Centers is an independent nonprofit blood center serving 59 hospitals in a 12-county area including Kane, McHenry, DeKalb, Will, DuPage, Cook, Grundy, Kendall, Lee, Ogle and LaSalle counties in Illinois, and Lake county in Indiana. Heartland works toward collecting more than 200,000 units of blood annually. All of the blood collected by Heartland supports hospitals in our communities.

Deletebloodcancer.org is a bone marrow donor center that has since grown to house the world's largest database of donors. They have branches in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., Poland and Spain. Globally, they have registered over 4.5 million donors and provided more than 40,000 patients with second chances at life. Potential donors who register through DKMS are added to the Be The Match Registry, the official registry of the United States operated by the National Marrow Donor Program. This registry currently includes more than 11 million donors, of which more than 38 percent have been recruited by Delete Blood Cancer and DKMS combined.

For more information about the blood or bone marrow registration drive, call the MCC Student Life Office at (815) 455-8550.