East Prairie to host bone marrow drive | News

EAST PRAIRIE, MO (KFVS)- A bone marrow drive in honor of 12-year-old student Michael Shands will be held at A.J. Martin Elementary School in East Prairie on Wednesday, December 19, from 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Shands was diagnosed with leukemia in July and has been undergoing chemotherapy for the past five months.

If you are a match, there are two ways of donating:

1. About 75% of the time the donation is done through blood, similar to donating platelets or plasma.
2. About 25% (usually if you match a child) the donation is done through a surgical procedure, you are under general anesthesia.  Needles are used to withdraw liquid marrow from the pelvic bone area.

A simple cheek swab is used to check if you are a match. 

To better serve the patients, only potential donors 18-44 years old can join the registry at this drive.

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