Team Shaw prepares to rally for DOD Marrow Donor Drive

Published March 5, 2013
By Senior Airman Tabatha Zarrella
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- During the week of March 18, Shaw is scheduled to host an event where Team Shaw members can register to donate either bone marrow or stem cells.

Registration is free and applicants must be between 18 and 60 and in general good health.

In 1986, the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense was created in which active-duty service members, National Guardsmen, Reservists, DOD employees, dependents and retirees may register to donate bone marrow or stem cells.

The military is the nation's largest source of whole blood donations, according to www.dodmarrow.com.

Registration will take five to ten minutes per individual and will consist of visiting one of several base locations during the week of March 18, filling out a DOD consent form and providing an oral swab to determine human leukocyte antigen type. No blood will be drawn during registration.

"After your information gets into the registry, the C.W. Bill Young DOD Bone Marrow center will do an initial survey to see if they have any matches," explained Capt. Neal Wendt, 609th Air Communications Squadron director of operations and site lead coordinator for the marrow donor program.

"Do not self eliminate," Wendt said. "Let the national registry eliminate. There are very few things that keep a person from donating."

Wendt, who has donated twice really felt the effects of being able to give, he said.

"When you get that call as being a match, all that goes through your mind is that you could potentially save someone's life," Wendt expressed.

Some useful donor information:

· Those who may not be eligible for donating blood are eligible to be marrow donors.

· No blood will be drawn at the time of registration.

· Every year, approximately 20,000 people are diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma and will not have a match in their immediate families and must turn to the national registry to find a compatible donor. Of these, 500 are fellow DOD and military personnel.

· There is zero cost to be a volunteer donor or to the military installation to which the donor is assigned.

· If an individual is selected as a match, C.W. Bill Young DOD Marrow Program provides travel and costs.

· C.W. Bill Young DOD Marrow Donor Program provides on-site assistance and all necessary materials to conduct the drive.

The following are the dates and sites on Shaw Air Force Base:

March 18 at the Deployment Processing Center, Volunteer kickoff at 3 p.m.

March 19-21 at the Carolina Skies Club and Conference Center,11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

March 19-21 at the Carolina Lakes Golf Course, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

March 19-21 at the Military Process Facility, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

March 19-21 at the Fitness Center, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

March 19-21 at the Dining Facility, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

March 22 at the Base Exchange, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, visit www.dodmarrow.com or contact Capt. Neal Wendt at 895-7604.