Base bone marrow drive scheduled for mid-May

  • Published
  • By Jennifer Brugman
  • 60th AMW Public Affairs
A bone marrow drive here May 15 to 17 will give everyone on base a chance to help save someone’s life. 

“The best part about the new registration system is that it does not require blood or needles,” said Capt. Nathan Campbell, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, bone marrow donor program coordinator. “It’s very easy and very rewarding.” 

Unit points of contact will organize their own registry drives. However, there will be a base-wide drive May 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Base Exchange. People can walk in, register to become a bone marrow donor and have the inside of their cheek swabbed — that’s all it takes to become part of the bone marrow donor registry. 

The goal is to get 2,000 people registered — however, registering does not obligate a person to donate if they are actually called. Only two percent of people who register will be asked to donate in their lifetime, according to Captain Campbell. 

“Why not register?” he said. “It’s such a great opportunity – a chance to save someone’s life.” 

Lt. Col. Marilyn Kott, 572nd Global Mobility Readiness Squadron commander, traveled to Georgetown University at the end of September last year to donate her bone marrow. The recipient was a 4-month-old male. 

“I was in a mobility line about 10 years ago,” she said. “At the end of the line, there were some volunteers recruiting people to sign up for the national bone marrow registry. By the time I got a phone call last summer, I had completely forgotten about registering.” 

The four-day process involved two days of travel and one day spent in the hospital. 

“I was under general anesthetic so I didn’t feel anything,” Colonel Kott said of the marrow harvesting process. 

Afterward, ‘it was tender,’ but nearly two weeks later her body had replaced the lost bone marrow and she was able to start running again in about a month. 

“It was a privilege to be able to help somebody,” Colonel Kott said. “What surprised me was how easy the whole process was, and that there was very little pain involved. There was just some discomfort — really it was more of an inconvenience.” 

For more information on the bone marrow drive, call Captain Campbell at 424-7853.