Duluth Students Work to Find Lifesaving Marrow Matches for Cancer Patients

DULUTH, MINN. — Every day, thousands of patients suffering from blood cancers like leukemia search for a bone marrow donor match. Sadly, six out of 10 patients today do not find a donor who can save their life. A group of students in Duluth are working hard to change that.

The Multicultural Pharmacy Student Organization (MPSO), a pharmacy fraternity on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus, has been conducting bone marrow donor registration drives since 2007 and have helped register more than 1,500 people as potential marrow donors.

"We have had good success in registering bone marrow donors in the past. Our matching donors from Duluth have saved lives of many blood cancer patients,” Rabi Ghimeray, a third year pharmacy student on the Duluth campus and one of the organizers for this year’s MPSO donor drive.

Register as a Bone Marrow Donor April 8 and 10

Anyone is welcome and encouraged to attend these upcoming MPSO donor drive events and register as bone marrow donors:

April 8 and 10, 2014
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Kirby Plaza Lower Level, University of Minnesota Duluth

Registering to become a bone marrow donor is easy – all it takes is a cheek swab. You also must be between 18 and 55 and in good general health. When you register, you will be listed on the Be The Match Registry® and can be found as a donor match for any patient in need of a bone marrow transplant.