COUNTYWIDE : Screening to Seek Donors of Marrow

A local group that matches patients in need of bone marrow transplants with donors is holding a blood screening drive June 30 in Thousand Oaks.

The Miracle Match Committee, along with the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, will test potential donors between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Temple Etz Chaim, 2080 E. Janss Road.

Blood samples will be entered in a national registry, where they will be compared to the blood of about 9,000 people in the United States seeking transplants, committee member Dianne Kelly said.

“Generally, we say there is a 1 in 20,000 chance for an exact match,” said Kelly, a founder of the Conejo Valley group.

“But there have been several area patients to receive donors lately.”

The registry contains about 300,000 donors, Kelly said, but should have at least 1 million names to be effective. Miracle Match has added 1,800 names to the registry since it began in February, she said.

Thirty-eight patients in Ventura County who suffer from leukemia, aplastic anemia, cancer or other blood cell-inhibiting diseases need transplants.

Donors must be between the ages of 18 and 55 and in good health. Each will be asked to give two tablespoons of blood. Only potential donors will be asked to return.

A fee of $55 will be charged for the testing.

If a match is found, about a cup of bone marrow will be taken from the donor’s hip, processed and then transplanted into the patient.