Fire department joins bone marrow drive

The Edmonds Fire Department will join the Puget Sound Blood Center in hosting Bone Marrow Registry Drives in Nov. The Drives are being held on behalf of 5-year-old Nicole Howard and numerous others who have leukemia and desperately need a bone marrow transplant to survive. Nicole is of mixed race descent, so she, like all people of multi-ethnic and non-Caucasian backgrounds, has a difficult time finding bone marrow matches.

The Bone Marrow Registry drives are intended to attract people of Asian, African-American, Hispanic, Native American or mixed-race heritage. Right now, fewer than 10% of donors are from each of these non-Caucasian backgrounds. Blood testing for donors from these racial groups is paid for by a federal grant. Caucasian donors, while still needed, are asked to pay for the testing required ($25).

Those interested in being placed on the National Bone Marrow Registry should be prepared to give a small sample of blood for testing. Once on the registry, donors will be contacted if they are a match for someone who needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

Nicole Howard and her family, through the Help Nicole organization, have been spearheading bone marrow registry drives for over a year. So far, no match has been found for Nicole, who is of Japanese-Caucasian ancestry. However, through the efforts of the Help Nicole organization, numerous multi-ethnic people have come forward to join the nationwide registry and increase the chances of minority and mixed race people to find a marrow donor.

Each of the Drives will feature free Starbucks drip coffee and will be conducted by trained medical personnel from the Puget Sound Blood Center.

For further information, visit www.helpnicole.org or call Shoreline Fire Department, 206 533-6500.

Here is the schedule for the Bone Marrow Registry Drives in the area: Saturday, November 9, Edmonds Fire Station 17 at 275 6th Avenue North, Edmonds; Saturday, November 16, Shoreline Fire Department/Shoreline Police Department Fire Station 61 at 17525 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline.