To enroll in the Dana-Farber Marrow Donor Program, you must be 18-60 years old and in general good health. You can register at Tufts University June 7 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in Cousens Gym, 161 College Ave., in Medford.
You will complete a short health questionnaire and rub the inside of your cheek with a cotton swab. The tissue-typing information will be entered into a database to see if it's a match with any of 6,000 patients. If you match a patient, a blood test is done, and you complete a medical exam to make sure you are healthy enough to donate.
There are two ways to donate lifesaving cells. The first includes collecting stem cells from your blood after you get five days of medication to increase the number of cells. The second involves extracting liquid marrow from the back of the pelvic bone while you are under general or local anesthesia.
"It's easy to be tested," said Dr. Robert Soiffer, chief of blood cancers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "In everyday life, we rarely get a chance to be a hero. But this is like being a firefighter and carrying someone out of a burning building. It's incredibly gratifying to save a life."
It's also possible to register by mail and get a self-swab test kit.
Mike Andrews, chairman of the Jimmy Fund, said this donor drive, organized by Bill Monbouquette's former Red Sox teammate, Jerry Moses, is not just about "Monbo."
"We're going to be able to potentially save hundreds more lives," said Andrews.
For more information, contact the Dana-Farber Marrow Donor Program at 866-875-3324.
STAN GROSSFELD
